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THE   LIFE 


OF 


JAMES 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


JAMES    MCCOSH 


Cftteflg 


EDITED   BY 

WILLIAM  M1LLIGAN  SLOANE 


WITH  PORTRAITS 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 
1896 


Copyright,  1896, 
BY  CHARLES  SCRIBNEK'S  SONS. 


SSttttocmtg 
JOHN  WILSON  ANI>  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 
JAMES  McCosn,  1811-1894 1 

CHAPTER 

I.  ANCESTRY 3 

II.  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  EARLY  LIFE      ....        10 

III.  LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY 24 

IV.  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  LIFE     AT     EDINBURGH 

UNIVERSITY 37 

V.    AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  FIRST     PASTORATE.  — 

ARBROATH 50 

VI.     AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  SECOND  PASTORATE  AND 

DISRUPTION  OF  THE  ESTABLISHED  CHURCH        67 
VII.     AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  MEN    AND    SCENES    OF 

THE  DISRUPTION 85 

VIII.     FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK 102 

IX.     PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND 125 

X.     AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  TRAVELS    IN    GERMANY 

AND  AMERICA 144 

XI.     PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING 166 

XII.     AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  -  -  TWENTY      YEARS     OF 

PRINCETON 181 

XIII.  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  -  -  TWENTY      YEARS     OF 

PRINCETON,  continued 198 

XIV.  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  -  -  TWENTY      YEARS     OF 

PRINCETON,  continued 215 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 
XV.     AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  TWENTY    YEARS    OF 

PRINCETON,  continued 227 

XVI.     LIFE  IN  AMERICA 241 

XVII.     AFTERMATH 259 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 269 

INDEX  283 


LIST   OF   PORTRAITS 

ETCHING    BY    GUSTAVE   MERCIER  FROM  A    PHOTOGRAPH 

TAKEN  IN  1888 Frontispiece 

PHOTOGRAVURE    FROM    A    PORTRAIT    PAINTED    IN     1847 

To  face  page  102 

PHOTOGRAVURE  FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  A  PORTRAIT 
BUST  BY  BAILEY,  PRESENTED  IN  1883  TO  PRINCETON 
COLLEGE  BY  THE  CLASS  OF  1873 166 

PHOTOGRAVURE  FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  ALTO- 
RILIEVO  BY  ST.  GAUDENS  IN  THE  MARQUAND  CHAPEL, 
PRESENTED  IN  1889  BY  THE  CLASS  OF  1879  ....  198 

PHOTOGRAVURE  FROM  A  PHOTOGRAPH  TAKEN  IN  1892  241 


JAMES   MCCOSH 

1811-1894 

have  seen  a  century  rise  and  wane ;  to  have  spent 
threescore  years  of  active,  influential  life  in  its 
very  noon ;  to  have  moulded  in  some  degree  the  thought 
of  two  generations  in  three  lands ;  to  have  shared  in 
Scotland's  latest  struggle  for  religious  liberty ;  to  have 
wrought  in  the  great  enterprise  of  Ireland's  intellectual 
emancipation  ;  to  have  led  a  powerful  educational  move- 
ment in  America,  and  to  have  regenerated  one  of  her 
most  ancient  universities,  —  these  are  the  titles  of  James 
McCosh  to  public  distinction.  He  was  a  philosopher,  but 
no  dreamer ;  a  scholar,  but  no  recluse  ;  a  preacher,  but  no 
ideologue ;  a  teacher,  but  no  martinet ;  he  was  a  thinker, 
a  public  leader,  and  a  practical  man  of  affairs.  For  these 
sufficient  reasons  those  who  were  closely  associated  with 
him  during  the  last  three  years  of  his  life  determined  to 
secure,  if  possible,  a  memorial  of  his  many  activities.  He 
was  induced  to  set  down  from  time  to  time  such  remi- 
niscences as  appeared  to  him  instructive  or  entertaining, 
and  these  were  intrusted  for  keeping  to  his  son  and  a 
family  friend  as  materials  for  his  biographer,  when  the 


2  JAMES  MCCOSH 

time  should  come  for  a  critical  estimate  of  his  life  and 
work.  That  time  is,  of  course,  still  distant,  but  in  the 
meanwhile  such  has  been  the  desire  of  his  co-workers 
and  pupils,  and  of  many  in  the  general  public,  for  some 
permanent  record  of  the  facts  and  dates  of  his  life,  that 
it  was  thought  best  to  arrange  the  available  material,  and 
to  publish  it  as  early  as  possible  for  the  gratification  of 
those  concerned.  What  is  set  down  in  the  following 
pages  as  fact  has  been  submitted  to  his  family  and 
scrutinized  in  the  light  of  authentic  records ;  what  has 
been  taken  verbatim  from  Dr.  McCosh's  letters  or  remi- 
niscences is  so  marked.  For  the  opinions  expressed,  the 
writer  alone  is  responsible,  but  in  forming  them  he  has 
had  valuable  assistance  from  many  quarters.  In  particu- 
lar, he  is  under  great  obligations  to  Professors  Ormond 
and  Scott,  and  to  the  Eev.  J.  H.  Dulles,  all  three  of  whom 
were  students  in  Princeton  within  the  period  of  Dr. 
McCosh's  administration.  He  asks  the  reader's  indul- 
gence for  the  repetitions  and  somewhat  irregular  chro- 
nology incident  to  the  plan  of  the  book. 


CHAPTER  I 

ANCESTRY 

TN  the  parish  churchyard  of  Straiten,  a  village  of 
Ayrshire  in  southwestern  Scotland,  which  is  situ- 
ated on  the  banks  of  the  Girvan  Eiver,  and  not  far  from 
Loch  Doon,  stands  the  tombstone  of  Jasper  McCosh,  who 
died  in  1727.  The  earliest  recorded  ancestor  of  James 
McCosh,  he  lies  among  the  forefathers  of  his  race,  —  a 
stock  renowned  for  their  devotion  to  principle  amid  the 
persecutions  attendant  on  the  misguided  efforts  of  Charles 
II.  to  impose  episcopacy  upon  the  Scotch  Presbyterians. 
The  name  is  Celtic,  and  the  McCoshes,  sons  of  foot,  are 
scattered  throughout  the  neighboring  counties,  being 
numerous  also  in  Irish  Ulster,  whence,  in  all  proba- 
bility, they  emigrated  into  Scotland.  But  they  had 
become  in  time  so  intermingled  with  Anglo-Saxon  blood 
that  they  were  an  integral  portion  of  the  true  Lowland 
Scotch.  The  "wild  Scots  of  Galloway,"  as  they  were 
called  hi  the  earliest  days,  were  merged  in  the  Teutonic 
migrations  which  peopled  England  and  southern  Scot- 
land, being  so  anglicized  that  many  of  the  McCosh 
clan,  for  example,  translated  their  Celtic  name  into  the 
English  equivalent,  and  under  the  name  of  Foot  or 
Foote  settled  in  various  portions  of  Great  Britian.  The 
descendants  of  Jasper  McCosh  laid  no  claim  to  aris- 
tocratic descent,  but  they  were  for  all  that  a  proud 


4  JAMES  MCCOSH 

family.  Moral  and  charitable,  they  cherished  their  inde- 
pendence, and  considered  the  virtues  of  industry  and  fru- 
gality upon  which  it  was  based  as  second  only  to  their 
devotion  and  piety.  For  twenty  years  their  ancestors 
had  endured  persecution  and  even  martyrdom  for  "  Christ's 
crown  and  covenant,"  as  they  designated  their  ecclesias- 
tical principles ;  and  although  much  had  occurred  in  the 
interval  to  revolutionize  the  character  of  their  faith  and 
conduct,  they  were  still  proud  of  the  noble  endurance,  the 
lofty  purpose,  and  the  undying  heroism  of  their  ancestors. 
Though  they  belonged  to  what  is  generally  designated 
the  middle  class,  they  were  people  of  substance  and 
refinement,  being  for  the  most  part  large  farmers,  tending 
their  flocks  and  herds  on  the  hills  above,  and  cultivating 
the  dales  below  with  assiduity  and  success.  To  be  one 
of  this  class,  to  have  neither  poverty  nor  riches,  is  a 
decided  advantage  for  the  student  of  human  nature,  since 
it  enables  him,  without  the  separation  of  any  social  stra- 
tum, to  hold  easy  intercourse  both  with  those  beneath 
and  with  those  above. 

The  farmers  of  the  lands  "  between  hill  and  dale  "  in 
Ayrshire  were  favored  by  neither  soil  nor  climate,  and 
were  forced  to  hard  labor,  careful  management,  and  great 
frugality  in  order  to  increase  the  store  which  they  had 
inherited  from  those  who  for  ages  had  been  engaged  in 
the  same  struggle.  Originally  the  land  had  been  divided 
into  small  plots,  granted  to  the  retainers  and  dependents 
of  petty  chieftains,  who  paid  their  rent  by  fighting  in  their 
masters'  quarrels,  whatever  these  might  be.  With  the 
advance  of  civilization,  such  services  had  become  less  and 
less  valuable  to  the  owners,  while  the  progress  made  in 
agriculture  necessitated  not  merely  better  tillage  and  the 


ANCESTRY  5 

use  of  improved  implements,  but  required  for  the  best 
economy  that  the  size  of  the  holdings  should  be  greatly 
increased.  The  minor  tenants  had  therefore  become 
tradesmen  or  farm-servants,  or  else  had  emigrated,  the 
small  farms  having  been  absorbed  in  the  larger  ones. 
The  proprietors  had  become  in  large  measure  absentee 
landlords,  spending  their  increased  revenues  in  travel,  or 
in  introducing  their  families  to  the  higher  circles  of  Lon- 
don society.  Finding  it  easier  and  more  satisfactory  to 
collect  their  rents  from  a  single  large  tenant  than  from  a 
number  of  petty  ones,  they  favored  the  substantial 
farmers  at  every  point,  and  left  the  peasantry  to  desert 
their  little  homes  and  become  artisans  in  towns,  or  else 
to  wander  into  foreign  lands  and  become  wealthy,  suc- 
cessful colonizers  in  all  parts  of  the  globe.  For  ages  these 
plain  people,  enlightened  by  their  parish  schools  and  their 
church,  had  been  evolving  a  well-known  type  of  character 
which  is  admirably  delineated  in  the  autobiographical  notes 
of  Dr.  McCosh  given  in  the  next  chapter.  The  "  canny  " 
or  "  able  "  Scot  is  a  cosmopolitan,  present  wherever  there 
is  work  to  do,  money  to  be  got,  and  honor  to  be  won. 
At  home  they  displayed  their  powers  in  the  only  line  open 
to  them,  namely,  in  their  farming,  which  they  brought  to 
a  state  of  perfection  unsurpassed,  if  indeed  equalled,  in 
any  other  land.  This  was  made  possible  only  by  the  capital 
of  the  larger  farmers,  but  in  the  process  it  was  impossible 
to  form  and  consolidate  a  body  of  peasant  farmers,  who 
might  have  lived  contentedly  at  home  as  good  citizens, 
and  have  prevented  the  development  of  many  unfortu- 
nate social  tendencies.  It  has  been  good  for  the  world 
that  so  many  of  Scotland's  ablest  sons  have  settled 
in  other  countries ;  but  there  was  a  time  in  their  own 


6  JAMES  MCCOSH 

when  their  high  idealism  and  sturdy  courage  were  sorely 
missed. 

Andrew  McCosh,  a  descendant  in  the  third  generation 
of  the  Jasper  before  mentioned,  and  the  father  of  James, 
lived  at  a  time  when  the  state  of  society  in  Scotland, 
though  picturesque  and  interesting  from  a  human  point 
of  view,  was  deplorable  in  regard  to  morality  and  piety. 
By  good  management  and  thrift  he  became  the  tenant  of 
half-a-dozen  small  farms,  aggregating  in  all  about  a  thou- 
sand acres,  for  which  he  paid  as  many  pounds  to  the 
proprietor  in  annual  rental.  He  was,  of  course,  an  intel- 
ligent man,  and  thoroughly  capable  in  the  management  of 
his  affairs.  From  him  his  famous  son  inherited  his  fond- 
ness for  that  quiet  reflection  to  which  the  sire,  like  many 
of  his  race,  was  much  given.  The  notice  of  his  death  in 
the  local  paper,  "  The  Ayr  and  Wigtonshire  Courier,"  bears 
testimony  to  his  virtues,  and  to  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  probably  written 
by  the  Eev.  Dr.  Paul,  a  nephew  of  the  Sir  Henry  Mon- 
creiff  so  influential  at  the  time;  he  was  then  pastor  of 
Straiton,  and  afterwards  became  minister  of  St.  Cuthbert's, 
Edinburgh.  The  eulogium  runs  as  follows:  "Died  at 
Carskeoch,  July  9th,  1820,  Mr.  Andrew  McCosh,  for 
many  years  tenant  in  that  farm.  We  notice  the  death  of 
that  excellent  and  exemplary  man  with  feelings  of  deep- 
est regret.  By  this  neighborhood,  in  which  he  lived,  we 
scarcely  believe  a  greater  loss  could  be  sustained.  To 
his  family  and  connections  he  was  ever  kind,  sympathetic, 
and  faithful,  and  such,  from  the  natural  sweetness  of  his 
disposition,  he  probably  would  have  been,  even  though 
he  had  not  been  actuated  by  any  higher  feelings.  In  his 
transactions  with  mankind  his  great  object  was  to  do 


ANCESTRY  7 

justly.  His  unaffected  simplicity  of  manner,  his  freedom 
from  artifice  and  guile,  were  proverbial  among  all  who 
knew  him.  His  modesty  spread  a  covering  over  all  other 
virtues,  improving  what  it  was  intended  to  conceal  The 
property  with  which  God  had  entrusted  him  he  seemed 
to  consider  as  a  loan  which  would  afterwards  be  required 
at  his  hand  with  interest.  As  a  friend  of  the  poor,  his 
loss  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  Poverty,  sickness,  and 
old  age  always  found  in  him  a  sympathizing  heart,  a 
relieving  and  protecting  hand.  Cheerfully  did  he  per- 
form the  offices  of  kindness  of  which  his  Saviour  had  set 
him  an  example.  The  poor,  the  maimed,  were  admitted 
to  his  home  and  served  from  his  board.  He  knew  that 
they  could  not  compensate  him,  but  wherever  these  were 
the  effects  and  expression  of  a  Christian  faith,  we  know 
that  they  will  be  remembered  at  the  resurrection  of  the 
just." 

That  this  measured  praise  was  well  merited  seems  clear 
to  all  who  knew  Dr.  McCosh  intimately.  The  memory 
of  his  God-fearing  parents  was  one  of  the  strongest  influ- 
ences in  his  life.  His  own  tribute  to  them  is  as  follows : 
"  I  was  only  nine  years  of  age  when  my  father  died,  in 
1820,  but  I  remember  so  much,  and  saw  so  much  of  his 
work  remaining,  as  to  know  that  the  account  given  above 
is  correct;  and  I  am  proud  of  it.  Almost  every  evening 
a  beggar,  or  a  family  of  beggars,  was  apt  to  appear  about 
nightfall ;  they  got  a  bed  in  the  stable,  and  a  substantial 
supper  and  breakfast.  I  remember  that  my  father  kept 
in  his  kitchen  a  poor  idiot  man,  whom  we  youngsters  used 
to  plague,  and  that  we  were  rebuked  for  it.  He  gave 
homes  to  several  poor  women  on  his  farm.  He  was  kind 
to  all  poor  relatives,  sending  them  meal,  and  carting  coals 


8  JAMES  MCCOSH 

for  them.  This  kindness  was  always  shown  in  a  delicate 
way.  We  were  four  miles  from  the  parish  church,  our 
house  being  on  the  Doon,  and  the  church  being  on  the 
Girvan,  and  we  often  spent  the  interval  between  the 
forenoon  and  afternoon  services  in  the  home  of  a  genteel 
family,  whose  father  had  lived  by  smuggling  claret 
and  brandy,  which  he  carried  up  from  the  sea-coast  by  a 
band  of  armed  men  and  horses  into  the  interior.  The 
strong  hand  of  the  law  was  brought  to  bear  upon  him, 
many  sharp  fights  took  place  between  him  and  the  sol- 
diers, and  he  was  reduced  to  poverty.  We  carried  with 
us  into  the  man's  house  a  considerable  stock  of  provisions, 
of  which  we  partook  ourselves,  and  left  the  larger  por- 
tion to  the  family.  We  children  were  ordered  to  say 
nothing  about  it  to  any  one. 

"  The  story  of  the  way  in  which  my  mother's  uncle 
treated  a  sturdy  beggar  became  well  known  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. My  grand-uncle,  on  giving  him  blankets  for 
the  night,  asked  him  what  security  he  would  give  that 
they  should  not  be  stolen,  and  was  assured  that  he  gave 
God  Almighty  as  security.  Next  morning  the  man  and 
blankets  were  off,  with  no  hope  of  their  casting  up  again. 
The  thief  wandered  all  day  among  the  mists  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  the  evening  he  asked  quarters  at  the  same 
house  without  knowing  it  to  be  the  same.  My  uncle 
saluted  him,  told  him  he  had  given  good  security,  and 
invited  him  to  stay  one  night  more,  and  the  beggar  was 
so  impressed  with  the  scene  that  there  was  no  more 
thieving. 

"  My  mother,  Jean  Carson,  was  the  daughter  of  James 
Carson,  a  large  farmer  in  a  wild,  moorland  district  of 
Scotland  at  the  top  of  Loch  Doon.  When  my  father 


ANCESTRY  9 

took  her  to  his  home  as  his  wife,  she  is  described  as  a 
modest  and  retiring  young  woman,  but  as  the  cares  of  a 
family  were  thrown  upon  her,  her  native  energy  developed, 
and  she  ruled  well  her  household.  She  was  early  left  a 
widow  with  a  large  family,  consisting  of  six  daughters 
and  myself,  whom  she  reared  with  care  and  tenderness, 
and  showed  great  skill  and  ability  in  the  management  of 
the  farms  she  was  left.  On  her  mother's  side,  she  was 
connected  with  a  well-known  Covenanting  family,  named 
McClymont.  Her  father's  family  were  Scotch  Covenant- 
ers, who  had  fought  at  the  battles  of  Drumclog  and  Both- 
well  Brig,  and  maintained  for  twenty-eight  years  the  lib- 
erties of  Scotland,  and  had  often  to  hide  in  the  dens  and 
caves  of  the  earth  on  the  banks  of  the  Stinchar,  near  the 
house  of  the  persecutor,  Sir  Archibald  Kennedy,  of  Culzean 
Castle.  One  day  Mr.  McClymont  returned  home,  and 
looking  out  of  his  window  he  saw  a  company  of  soldiers 
riding  furiously  towards  his  house,  and  had  only  time, 
before  they  reached  it,  to  hide  among  some  raspberry 
bushes.  They  demanded  of  his  wife  where  her  husband 
was,  and  she  said  that  they  might  seek  for  him.  Then 
they  insisted  that  they  must  have  food  for  their  horses, 
and  she  pointed  them  to  a  hay-stack.  They  placed  a 
guard  over  the  dwelling,  and  began  to  cut  down  the  hay. 
One  of  the  troopers,  seeing  the  tempting  raspberries, 
started  to  pull  them.  She  saw  that  her  husband  was  in 
danger,  but  she  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  She  pulled 
berries  till  she  found  one  with  a  large  worm  in  it,  and 
showed  it  to  the  English  trooper,  who  was  so  disgusted 
by  the  sight  that  he  returned  to  the  hay-stack,  and  her 
husband  was  saved.  I  am  sure  that  I  owe  much  of  my 
character  by  heredity  to  this  woman." 


CHAPTER  H 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  EARLY  LIFE 
1811-1824 

T  WAS  born  on  April  1, 1811,  at  my  father's  farm-house, 
•*•  called  Carskeoch.  If  any  one  has  a  choice  of  a  place 
of  birth  and  training,  let  him  fix  upon  a  farm-house  (I 
learned  when  in  Ireland  to  commit  Irish  Bulls),  and 
always  to  be  under  a  father  or  mother,  without  whom 
no  external  advantages  can  benefit  the  child.  The  boy 
is  thus  surrounded  with  objects  fitted  to  interest  him 
and  call  forth  his  energies.  Here  I  wandered  at  my 
own  free  will,  following  my  thoughts  and  fancies  among 
green  and  heather,  hills  and  valleys,  among  trees  and 
rocks  and  brooks  (Scottice  burns).  Here  I  became  in- 
terested in  wild  plants,  such  as  lilies,  roses,  meadow-sweet, 
and  foxgloves.  Here  I  found  birds  flying,  chirping,  or 
curiously  building  their  nests.  Here  I  had  sheep  and 
lambs  (every  boy  should  have  his  motherless  lamb  as  a 
pet) ;  here  I  had  horses  and  foals,  hens  and  ducks,  geese 
and  turkeys.  Here  I  had  my  collie  dog,  called  "Fam- 
ous," and  my  pony,  called  "  Cuddy."  The  boy  should 
watch  the  ways  of  all  these  creatures;  he  should  care 
for  them  and  feed  them ;  in  short,  should  make  them 
his  friends.  I  had  to  hold  intercourse  with  servant  lads 
and  lassies  tending  the  cows  and  working  the  horses. 
It  is  a  sphere  fitted  to  call  forth  reflection  and  independ- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — EARLY  LIFE  11 

ence.  It  was  in  such  a  scene  that  I  was  reared,  in  a 
good  stone  house,  with  comfortable  rooms  and  bed-rooms, 
and  a  garret  where  the  men-servants  slept;  grouped 
around  about  were  the  farm  buildings,  —  a  milk-house,  a 
stable,  a  barn,  and  a  cart  or  carriage  house. 

Carskeoch  was  pleasantly  situated,  within  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  of  the  river  Doon,  about  ten  miles  from  its  mouth, 
on  the  bay 1  of  Ayr,  and  with  a  considerably  wide  view 
all  around.  Following  the  river  upwards,  we  had  first 
extensive  meadows,  now  cut  up  by  lately  discovered  iron 
works,  then  a  romantic  glen,  through  which  the  river 
flowed  from  the  lake  above,  and  on  that  lake  a  ruined 
castle  which  was  famous  in  the  days  of  Bruce.  I  do 
not  believe  that  natural  scenery  has  had  so  much 
influence  on  character  as  is  sometimes  imagined,  but  I 
know  that  Loch  Boon,  on  which  I  have  so  often  fished, 
and  the  wild  scenery  between  Ayrshire  and  Galloway, 
have  created  within  me  that  intense  taste  which  I  have 
for  mountain  scenery.  Following  the  Boon  downwards 
we  have  "  Ye  banks  and  braes  of  bonnie  Doon,"  and,  at 
the  mouth,  Eobert  Burns's  birthplace.  The  river  flows 
from  east  to  west ;  north  of  it  are  heather  hills,  and  south 
of  it  the  cultivated  fields  of  Scotland,  running  on  towards 
England.  The  region  was  never  visited  by  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  who  was  the  main  instrument  of  making  romantic 
certain  parts  of  Scotland,  and  so  is  not  as  well  known  as 
some  other  districts  not  so  romantic. 

I  may  here  give  a  picture  of  the  character  of  the  dis- 
trict with  which  I  was  at  one  time  so  well  acquainted. 
The  region  had  passed  through  stirring  scenes  in  the  days 
of  Wallace.  Now  and  then  some  knowing  man  showed 

1  A  recess  of  level  ground  surrounded  by  hills. 


12  JAMES  MCCOSH 

me  a  tree  in  which  the  Scottish  patriot  had  hid  from 
his  English  persecutors.  We  all  knew  the  "  barns  of 
Ayr,"  which  he  had  burned.  In  the  Reformation  and 
post-Reformation  periods  there  had  been  fierce  contests 
among  the  barons  of  Ayrshire  and  Galloway.  Afterward 
there  had  been  a  strong  Covenanting  movement  in  the 
southwest  of  Scotland,  among  a  people  who  had  been 
trained  by  their  ministers  in  the  stern  principles  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  and  were  resolved  to 
resist  the  prelacy  which  was  attempted  to  be  imposed 
on  them.  There  must  have  been  much  religious  life  in 
the  days  of  the  Covenant,  otherwise  the  people  would  not 
have  submitted  to  such  privations ;  the  hearts  of  the 
great  body  of  the  people  must  have  been  deeply 
moved,  otherwise  they  would  not  have  submitted  to  such 
suffering. 

But  the  religious  life  in  later  ages  had  been  suppressed 
by  the  blight  of  moderation,  and  now  religion  had  very 
much  disappeared.  Immorality  followed,  and  there  was 
a  low  tone  of  duty  among  the  people,  while  drinking 
and  licentiousness  prevailed.  The  stream  which  had 
rushed  over  rocks  and  precipices  was  now  flowing  through 
a  level  plain.  The  people  had  comparatively  few  tradi- 
tions, and  the  young  were  not  much  interested  in  them. 
The  Reformation  had  done  little  but  set  aside  the  fables 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Patronage  Act  of  1711,  which 
took  away  the  power  of  appointing  ministers  from  the 
heritors  and  parishioners,  and  gave  it  to  patrons  who 
often  forced  worldly  ministers  into  the  pulpit,  had 
effaced  the  remembrance  of  the  glorious  struggles  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  Covenant.  There  were  tombstones 
in  nearly  every  parish  which  told  of  men  who  had  been 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — EARLY  LIFE  13 

shot  for  Christ's  Kingdom  and  Covenant,  but  these  were 
now  moss-grown  and  little  attended  to.  The  great  body 
of  the  people,  immersed  in  matters  connected  with  the 
cultivation  of  their  land,  admitted  that  these  old  worthies 
had  been  very  good  men,  but  congratulated  themselves 
on  living  in  more  enlightened  times. 

The  few  traditions  took  a  superstitious  turn.  When 
I  was  a  boy,  an  old  lady  told  me  that  her  father,  who 
was  one  of  the  tenants,  had  been  among  those  who  bore 
the  body  of  Sir  Archibald  Kennedy,  the  persecutor,  to 
his  grave.  It  was  a  dark  and  furious  night.  At  first 
the  coffin  was  so  heavy  that  they  could  scarcely  carry 
it.  As  they  entered  the  graveyard,  a  black  raven  was 
heard  croaking  from  a  tree  above  them.  Suddenly  the 
coffin  became  lighter;  the  contents  had  evidently  been 
carried  away.  In  the  same  night,  and  at  the  same  hour, 
a  fiery  ship  was  seen  crossing  the  Bay  of  Ayr  at  a  tre- 
mendous speed.  A  bold  skipper  challenged  it,  "  From 
whence  to  where,"  and  the  answer  was,  "  From  Hell  to 
Kirkoswald,  to  Sir  Archibald  Kennedy's  funeral."  A 
few  minutes  after,  the  same  ship  was  seen  returning,  and 
was  again  saluted,  "From  whence  to  where,"  and  the 
answer  was,  "  From  Kirkoswald  to  Hell,  bearing  Sir 
Archibald  Kennedy." 

It  was  during  the  last  century  that  the  character  of  the 
Lowland  Scot  was  formed.  That  character  is  a  distinc- 
tive one.  It  is  different  from  that  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  other  countries  of  the  British  dominion.  The  Low- 
lander  is  nearly  as  obstinate  as  the  Highlander,  but  he  is 
not  so  fiery.  He  has  not  the  impulsiveness  and  flighti- 
ness  of  the  Irishman,  his  wit,  or  his  warm  display  of 
friendship  or  enmity.  He  is  naturally  of  an  anxious 


14  JAMES  MCCOSH 

spirit,  though  he  tries  to  hide  it,  being  in  this  respect 
like  the  Yankee.  He  has  not  the  self-sufficiency  of  the 
Englishman,  who  carries  his  point  by  his  good  sense  and 
composure.  The  Scot  is  proverbially  "  canny,"  that  is, 
cautious  in  taking  up  his  position,  but  apt  to  be  obsti- 
nate in  holding  by  it.  He  is  strongly  bent  on  being  inde- 
pendent, but  if  it  expose  him  to  danger,  slow  in  exhibiting 
it.  When  he  sets  out  on  any  undertaking  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  make  him  turn  back.  The  following  incident  is 
characteristic.  I  remember  being  placed  on  one  horse, 
to  lead  a  second  horse  behind  me  by  a  halter ;  I  held  by 
the  halter  till  I  was  pulled  over  the  horse's  tail,  —  a  very 
picture  of  the  young  Scotchman  sticking  by  a  cause  which 
he  might  easily  abandon. 

The  common  people  of  Scotland  attained  a  consider- 
able amount  of  intelligence  at  an  earlier  date  than  any 
other  community  in  Europe.  This  they  owed  to  John 
Knox,  who  insisted  on  having  a  school  in  every  parish, 
an  academy  in  every  burgh  town,  and  a  university  in  every 
large  city.  In  every  school  the  Bible  was  taught :  in  some 
districts  it  was  the  Book  of  Proverbs  that  was  used  as 
a  text-book,  and  helped  to  give  the  people  their  shrewd- 
ness. I  have  to  add  that  the  Shorter  Catechism,  drawn 
out  by  the  Westminster  divines,  was  committed  to 
memory  in  the  schools,  and  in  nearly  every  family,  and 
being  the  best  logical  compend  of  the  system  of  doctrine 
laid  down  in  the  Bible,  it  gave  to  the  people  the  logical 
turn  for  which  they  are  distinguished  in  their  thoughts 
and  expressions.  This  education  did  not  and  could  not 
produce  the  genius  of  Burns,  of  Scott,  or  Carlyle,  but  it 
came  out  in  the  massive  sense  by  which  they  were  dis- 
tinguished among  literary  people.  Douce  Davie  Deans 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — EARLY  LIFE  15 

and  Jeanie  Deans  (and  I  may  add  Effie  Deans)  are  per- 
fect pictures  of  Scottish  characters. 

Of  all  the  people  I  have  met  with,  the  Scotch  have 
the  least  of  what  we  call  "  manners  "  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  members  of  their  family,  with  their  neighbors, 
and  with  the  world  generally.  The  Scot  loves  his  wife 
and  family,  and  would  make  any  sacrifice  for  them,  but 
he  seldom  or  never  utters  a  word  of  compliment  to  them. 
He  doubts  the  sincerity  of  such  words  and  acts,  and  is 
apt  to  regard  them  as  hypocrisy,  having  some  selfish  end 
in  view,  and  speaks  of  them  as  Frenchified  and  un- 
worthy of  an  honest  Scotchman.  I  confess  I  have  often 
been  repelled  by  the  cool  manner  in  which  Scotch  people, 
after  long  absences  or  in  critical  emergencies,  often  meet 
with  each  other.  I  remember  going  up  to  a  most  excel- 
lent man  to  comfort  him  when  he  was  trying  to  restrain 
his  tears  as  he  hung  over  the  body  of  his  son,  just  de- 
ceased. I  was  chilled  when  all  that  he  could  utter  was, 
"  This  is  a  fine  day,  sir."  We  can  thus  account  for  some 
of  the  oddities  of  Thomas  Carlyle.  I  have  known  a 
number  of  ministers  like  him.  He  was  at  one  time 
nearly  becoming  a  minister,  and  a  curious  minister  he 
would  have  been.  We  are  amazed  to  read  that  he  was 
often  cold  and  indifferent,  at  times  rude  to  his  wife ;  but 
he  loved  her  all  the  while,  and  would  have  died  for  her 
at  any  time. 

Scotchmen  are  often  described  as  being  cold  and  selfish, 
but  the  bareness  is  only  on  the  surface,  beneath  which 
there  is  often  a  well  of  tender  affection.  With  no  pre- 
tensions or  promises,  they  stand  by  their  families  and 
friends  as  resolutely  as  any  people  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  When  they  give  their  assent,  possibly  in  few 


16  JAMES  MCCOSH 

words,  it  is  commonly  found  that  you  can  trust  them. 
The  parts  which  they  acted  at  the  Eeformation,  again  in 
the  Covenanting  struggle,  and  at  a  later  date  in  the  Free 
Church  movement,  are  proofs  of  their  resolution  and 
courage  on  great  questions  of  principle.  I  have  often 
thought  that  it  would  be  better  for  themselves,  and  for 
their  influence  over  their  fellow-men,  if,  instead  of  restrain- 
ing and  concealing  their  feelings,  they  would  allow  them 
full  expression,  as  the  Irish  do. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland 
had  been  ploughed  and  harrowed  by  the  great  Covenant- 
ing struggle.  For  a  time  the  fruits  were  reaped  in  a  gen- 
eral religious  life  throughout  the  country,  with  family 
worship  in  most  of  the  households  in  which  there  was  a 
profession  of  religion,  where  also  young  men  and  women 
were  trained  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Shorter  Catechism. 
But  all  this  was  changed  when  the  Government  sanctioned 
the  Patronage  Act  of  1711,  taking  away  the  power  of 
appointing  ministers  from  the  parishes,  and  giving  it  to 
the  Patrons,  —  the  crown  with  its  political  ends  claiming 
one-third  of  the  benefices,  and  the  other  two-thirds  being 
given  to  private  noblemen  or  gentlemen  who  had  no 
interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people.  The  result 
was  the  formation  of  a  class  of  ministers  who  were  called 
Moderates,  because  they  often  preached  on  the  text,  "  Be 
moderate  in  all  things,"  and  sought  to  allay  the  heats  of 
the  previous  century.  Young  men  of  a  worldly  spirit 
were  appointed  to  the  ministry,  commonly  well  educated 
and  of  good  manners,  but  with  no  spiritual  life. 

I  have  before  me  a  volume  of  sermons  by  the  minister 
who  baptized  me,  —  an  accomplished  man  who  after- 
wards became  the  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  EARLY  LIFE  17 

University  of  St.  Andrews.  It  is  gracefully  written,  in 
short  and  well-constructed  sentences,  and  it  has  fine  sen- 
timent; but  it  does  not  contain  one  sentence  of  gospel 
truth,  that  is,  of  Jesus  set  forth  as  the  Eedeemer  of  sinners. 
Blair's  sermons,  so  graceful  yet  so  powerless,  were  the 
models  all  over  the  country  among  the  younger  ministers. 
They  were  greatly  admired  by  young  men  and  women  of 
note,  but  had  no  moving  influence  on  the  great  body  of 
the  people,  as  they  did  not  speak  of  sin  and  salvation,  — 
subjects  which  the  latter  would  have  understood  from 
their  own  experience. 

The  degeneracy  in  religion  was  followed  by  a  degener- 
acy in  morals.  It  is  a  law  of  God's  government  that 
religion  is  the  main  instrument  of  keeping  up  a  high  mor- 
ality in  a  district,  and  that  where  religion  loses  its  hold, 
the  restraints  on  vice  are  removed.  It  was  so  in  Scot- 
land in  the  latter  two-thirds  of  the  last  century,  and  in 
the  earlier  one- third  of  this.  In  particular,  two  vicious 
habits,  which  have  exercised  so  prejudicial  an  influence  on 
Scottish  character,  became  prevalent  at  this  time.  First, 
there  was  intemperance.  The  great  body  of  the  people 
did  not  drink  to  excess,  but  there  was  use  of  ardent 
spirits  on  all  occasions,  —  at  christenings,  at  weddings, 
at  all  family  and  all  social  gatherings.  The  farmer  could 
not  sell  a  horse,  a  cow,  or  a  calf,  without  being  obliged 
to  give  drink  to  the  buyer.  On  New  Year's  Day  the 
children  were  accustomed  to  give  presents  to  their 
teacher,  the  boy  and  girl  who  gave  the  largest  sum 
being  king  and  queen  for  the  day  (I  was  king  for  several 
years),  and  the  teacher  had  to  give  them  toddy  to  drink. 
The  consequence  was  that  many  young  men,  including  a 
number  of  my  companions,  one  of  them  a  most  amiable 

2 


18  JAMES  MCCOSH 

young  man,  and  a  dear  friend  of  mine,  fell  before  the 
temptation.  When  at  school  I  often  saw  staggering  along 
the  streets  the  most  gentlemanly  farmer  in  the  nei<?hbor- 
hood,  the  largest  manufacturer,  and  the  village  black- 
smith and  carpenter.  Every  here  and  there  were  parishes 
in  which  the  minister  was  apt  to  join  in  the  festivities, 
and  had  to  be  helped  home  by  his  people.  I  knew  a  case 
in  which  the  people  gathered  at  a  funeral,  and  drank  so 
hard  that  when  they  arrived  at  the  burial  place,  several 
miles  off,  they  found  that  they  had  forgot  to  bring  with 
them  the  coffin  and  the  corpse. 

A  second  prevailing  vice  was  the  illicit  intercourse 
of  young  men  and  women.  This  was  very  common 
before  marriage.  The  minister  of  a  neighboring  parish 
had  been  guilty  of  it.  This  state  of  things  was  to  a  large 
extent  produced  by  the  secretiveness  of  the  Scottish 
character,  by  the  determination  of  the  younger  men  and 
women  to  have  their  love-affairs  thoroughly  concealed. 
The  fathers  and  mothers,  and  the  master  and  mistress  of 
the  farms,  did  not  allow  an  open  courtship.  The  plough- 
man came  stealthily  to  the  farm-house,  and  indicated  his 
presence  in  the  way  spoken  of  in  the  song,  "  Whistle  and 
I  '11  come  to  you,  my  lad."  The  young  woman  went  out 
to  meet  her  lover,  and  the  two  walked  in  some  hidden 
path,  or  took  refuge  in  the  barn.  It  has  to  be  added  that 
the  life  after  marriage  was  in  general  kept  absolutely 
pure.  I  am  sorry  to  recall  by  way  of  exception  that  the 
master  of  the  coal  works  corrupted  the  wives  of  many  of 
the  work  people  in  my  neighborhood  by  giving  them 
small  presents. 

The  consequence  of  all  this  was  that  there  was  no 
healthy  public  sentiment  on  these  subjects.  The  drink- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — EARLY  LIFE  19 

ing  men  were  genial,  and  commonly  very  popular.  The 
falls  of  young  men  and  women  were  readily  excused. 
The  Kirk  Session  exercised  discipline,  but  the  rebukes 
on  the  cutty-stool  were  of  a  coarse  description,  and 
tended  rather  to  harden  the  character. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how,  under  these  circumstances,  young 
Robert  Burns  was  so  easily  led  astray  by  the  flax-dresser 
in  Irvine,  when  he  went  to  live  there.  I  can  speak  on 
this  subject  with  confidence,  for  I  was  born  fifteen  years 
after  his  death,  on  the  same  river  which  he  has  made  so 
famous,  and  I  know  the  circumstances  in  which  he 
lived.  When  he  came  back  from  Edinburgh,  in  which 
he  had  been  so  well  treated,  he  declared  he  had  found  as 
much  wit  and  talent  among  "  the  jolly  bachelors  of  Tar- 
bolton "  as  in  the  highest  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh. 
But  he  adds  that  he  had  not  met  with  a  pure  refinement 
of  mind  among  females  until  he  visited  the  metropolis 
of  Scotland.  Burns's  example,  his  perpetual  outflow  of 
wit  and  humor,  and  some  of  his  poems  circulated  among 
the  people,  tended  to  foster  the  views  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking.  The  tradition  is,  that  when  he  got  into 
a  jovial  party  in  his  later  life,  his  expression  was  in  the 
first  instance  dull,  and  his  countenance  flat  enough,  but 
as  he  drank  the  rounds  of  toddy  he  brightened  amazingly, 
and  kept  the  whole  table  in  a  roar.  There  were  no 
temperance  societies  in  those  days  to  .raise  a  public  senti- 
ment against  the  evils.  The  scholarly  preaching  in  the 
churches  had  little  effect  on  the  great  body  of  the  people. 
As  a  rule,  the  moderate  clergy  favored  young  Burns. 
The  most  devoted  clergy  were  exposed  by  him  and  his 
friends  to  ridicule. 

This  is  a  picture  of  the  times  In  which  I  lived,  but  it 


20  JAMES  MCCOSH 

is  time  to  return  to  the  scenes  through  which  I  passed, 
and  by  them  to  give  a  picture  of  the  character  of  the 
people.  My  father  was  never  called  "  Mr.  McCosh,"  but 
"  Carskeoch,"  after  the  farm  on  which  he  lived.  After 
his  decease  in  1820,  I  had  to  represent  him  and  the 
family  at  the  marriages  and  funerals  in  the  neighborhood. 
I  am  able  to  testify  to  the  great  talent  which  the  people 
showed  in  their  social  intercourse,  in  discussions  on  all 
subjects,  human  and  divine,  and  in  the  humorous  re- 
marks, often  very  coarse,  which  they  threw  out.  Burns 
certainly  had  not  the  advantage  of  a  refining  education, 
but  he  grew  up  among  a  people  whose  shrewdness  stimu- 
lated his  native  faculties  into  life.  As  I  advanced  from 
boyhood  to  manhood,  I  remember  arguing  with  the 
farmers  and  in  the  village  shops  over  the  most  profound 
subjects.1 

1  "  The  experiences  of  Dr.  McCosh's  boyhood  have  left  a  clear  stamp  on 
his  memory,  and  in  the  familiar  talk  which  at  times  interrupts  the  dignity 
of  a  lecture  or  the  solemnity  of  a  sermon,  frequently  serve  to  point  a  moral. 
One  of  the  most  humorous  is  very  characteristic.  On  a  certain  day  about 
his  eighth  year,  his  mother  was  to  make  her  regular  visit  to  the  near- 
est market  town.  Her  son  was  to  enjoy  the  dignity  of  escorting  her 
as  a  reward  for  good  behavior.  The  drive  was  delightful,  and  the  sense 
of  merit  and  importance  grew  stronger  and  stronger  in  the  child's  mind. 
Arrived  in  the  main  street,  the  horses  and  carriage  were  sent  to  the  inn 
stables,  and  the  shopping  tour  began.  Before  long  the  boy  began  to 
suffer  somewhat,  as  do  most  of  his  sex  under  similar  circumstances.  He 
was  stationed  accordingly  at  the  door  of  the  shop  with  strict  injunctions 
to  keep  his  hands  off  the  tempting  wares  exhibited  at  his  entrance  by  the 
grocer.  Before  long  a  sweep  with  all  his  sooty  armor  spied  in  the  door- 
way the  small  but  important  figure,  somewhat  conscious  of  his  first-best 
clothes,  and  began  a  series  of  those  insulting  gestures  with  which  street 
gamins  express  disdain  and  sportive  contempt.  For  a  time  the  young 
countryman  forbore,  but  he  had  been  "  brought  up  on  gude  parritch," 
and  could  at  last  endure  no  more.  He  accordingly  attacked  and  thor- 
oughly thrashed  the  mocking  sweep  before  his  mother,  attracted  by  the 
gathering  crowd,  could  interfere.  What  was  his  dismay  when,  instead  of 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — EARLY  LIFE  21 

My  father  was  known  as  promoting  religion  and 
morality  in  his  household.  "He  took  the  book,"  as  it 
was  styled,  every  Sabbath  evening;  that  is,  he  had 
family  worship,  which  all  his  children  and  servants 
attended.  I  remember  the  graphic  expressions  which  he 
often  used  in  his  prayers,  especially  in  confessing  his 
shortcomings.  Our  parish,  Straiten,  was  a  very  extended 
one,  some  of  the  people  in  the  muirlaud  district  being  a 
dozen  miles  from  the  kirk.  We  could  not  go  to  church 
in  a  conveyance  without  going  seven  miles  around, 
and  we  preferred  a  more  direct  route  through  an  unin- 
habited moor.  Some  of  my  most  interesting  recollections 
gather  round  these  Sabbath  excursions.  My  father  and 
mother,  who  went  regularly  to  the  house  of  God,  rode  on 
horseback.  We  young  people  walked  on  foot,  except  that 
after  my  father's  death  I  rode  his  pony. 

My  father  wished  me  to  become  a  scholar,  and  destined 
me  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  sent  me  to  school 
at  the  age  of  six.  At  nine  he  made  me  begin  Latin. 
Though  not  remarkably  bright,  and  particularly  with  no 
faculty  for  acquiring  languages,  I  made  good  progress  in 
my  studies.  My  master  was  Mr.  Quintin  Smith,  a  fer- 
vently pious  man,  and  I  owe  much  to  him  in  calling 
my  attention  to  religion  when  there  was  so  little  of  it 
in  the  district.  He  read  extensively,  and  I  often  called 
upon  him  in  the  evening  and  enjoyed  the  only  literary 
intercourse  I  could  find  in  the  place.  He  afterwards 

the  approbation  which  he  felt  h«  had  earned,  the  crowd  broke  out  into 
laughter  at  the  sight  of  his  sooty  and  smutty  face  and  garments.  The 
carriage  was  instantly  recalled,  the  bedraggled  victor  hurried  into  it,  and 
the  eagerly  expected  day  of  pleasure  turned  into  one  of  humiliation  by  the 
long  and  dreary  homeward  journey  and  the  reproofs  of  his  father."  — 
John  Van  Cleve  in  the  "  Century  Magazine,"  February,  1887. 


22  JAMES  MCCOSH 

went  to  America,  where  he  became  a  farmer,  teacher,  and 
preacher.  He  was  pleased  beyond  measure  when  an 
American  minister  showed  him  a  copy  of  the  "  Method 
of  Divine  Government,"  by  his  old  pupil. 

These  were  the  circumstances  in  which  I  was  brought 
up.  I  owed  it  to  the  restraints  of  God's  providence  that 
I  did  not  go  astray,  as  I  am  sorry  to  say  so  many  of  my 
companions,  the  farmers'  sons,  did.  From  a  very  early 
date  I  purposed  to  make  the  ministry  of  the  Word  my 
life-work. 

The  motives  which  weighed  with  me  in  taking  this 
step  were,  I  am  afraid,  of  a  very  mixed  and  insufficient 
character.  I  did  not  care  much  for  agricultural  employ- 
ment, though  I  took  charge  both  of  the  sheep  and  cattle, 
and  wrought  in  the  hay  and  harvest  fields,  all  to  assist 
my  mother  after  my  father's  decease.  These  occupa- 
tions gave  me  a  considerable  knowledge  of  the  practical 
affairs  of  life,  and  an  insight  into  the  character  of  men 
and  women,  which  has  been  of  service  to  me  in  after  life. 
As  to  other  professions,  I  did  not  care  much  for  mixing 
drugs  and  visiting  the  sick,  and  I  did  not  care  to  be  a 
lawyer,  as  I  disliked  wrangling.  I  was  all  along  fond  of 
books,  and  I  eagerly  read  those  I  had  access  to.  I 
remember  reading  in  my  boyish  days  "  D wight's  Theo- 
logy," and  a  large  geographical  Cyclopaedia,  which  my 
father  had  bought  from  a  travelling  canvasser.  At  a  later 
date  I  read  "  Pamela,  or  Virtue  Rewarded,"  by  Richard- 
son, and  the  "  Spectator,"  ordered  by  my  sister.  So  I 
went  on  to  acquire  knowledge,  looking  to  the  ministry  as 
,the  means  open  to  me  of  gratifying  my  tastes.  I  felt  all 
the  while  that  if  I  was  to  be  a  minister,  I  must  be  pious. 
Often,  therefore,  did  I  dedicate  myself  to  God,  praying 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  EARLY  LIFE  23 

earnestly,  but  not  regularly  or  systematically.  Ever  and 
anon  my  conscience  smote  me  for  the  irregularity  in  my 
devotions,  and  I  became  terribly  anxious  and  earnest, 
and  formed  many  resolutions  for  good.  I  think  I  can 
claim  all  along  that  I  had  a  loose  but  sincere  desire  to  do 
good  in  ways  open  to  me.  I  believe  that  I  have  so  far 
been  swayed  by  this  motive  all  my  life. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  already  in  my  boyish  days 
there  had  begun  a  reaction  against  the  moderatism  of  the 
previous  century.  In  the  parish  we  had  two  ministers, 
who  were  kind  to  me  personally.  We  had  first  Dr.  Paul, 
and  after  him  Dr.  Paton,  who  was  settled  later  in  Glas- 
gow. They  both  preached  the  gospel  in  carefully  pre- 
pared sermons.  They  were  much  respected,  but  scarcely 
succeeded  in  rousing  the  people,  who  for  several  ages 
had  been  under  lethargic  influence.  What  was  needed 
first  of  all  and  above  all  was  a  John  the  Baptist  to  pre- 
pare the  way  of  the  Lord. 

It  was  when  I  was  so  placed  and  thus  exercised  that  I 
was  sent  to  Glasgow  University,  at  the  premature  age  of 
thirteen. 


CHAPTER  III 

LIFE  AT   GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY 
1824-1829 

'"PHE  Scotch  schoolmaster  or  "  dominie  "  is  well  known 
to  every  reader  of  fiction.  He  was  second  only 
to  the  minister  of  the  parish  in  the  importance  which 
he  enjoyed  among  the  people.  This  was  due  to  the 
respect  felt  everywhere  for  education,  and  to  the  fact 
that  in  the  main  the  "  dominies  "  were  men  of  sterling 
character,  sound  scholarship,  and  strong  piety.  The  few 
words  in  which  Dr.  McCosh  sketches  the  salient  outlines 
of  Mr.  Quintin  Smith  show  that  his  first  teacher  was 
a  schoolmaster  of  the  highest  qualities.  From  him  his 
young  scholar  obtained  the  elements  of  a  sound  educa- 
tion, being  well  grounded  not  only  in  the  ordinary  English 
branches,  but  securing  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Greek 
and  Latin  Grammar  and  of  a  few  authors  in  each  of  the 
classical  tongues,  together  with  the  elements  of  Mathe- 
matics. For  languages,  Dr.  McCosh  considered  himself  to 
have  had  but  little  aptitude,  but  he  excelled  in  Mathe- 
matics, both  pure  and  applied,  being  endowed  with  strong 
reasoning  powers,  and  having  a  logical  turn  of  mind.  It 
was  therefore  with  an  excellent  preparation  that  he  left 
home  to  enter  upon  his  college  career,  not  merely  in  the 
matter  of  intellectual  attainments,  but  also  in  character 
and  experience  of  life.  Although  but  thirteen  years  old,  he 
had  felt  himself,  since  his  father's  death,  to  be  the  staff 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  25 

of  his  family,  and  bound,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  carry 
out  the  plans  for  his  future  which  both  his  parents  had 
cherished  as  those  nearest  their  heart.  It  was  with  a 
firm  purpose,  in  spite  of  his  teens,  that  the  boy  set  out 
for  Glasgow  University,  thirty  miles  away,  in  charge  of 
his  cousin  Samuel  Walker  McCosh,  already  a  distin- 
guished scholar  in  that  institution  of  learning.  He  was 
sustained  by  the  sense  that  something  of  importance, 
what  he  could  not  of  course  tell,  but  something  real  and 
valuable  was  to  come  of  his  college  course ;  yet  for  many 
months  he  felt  serious  pangs  of  homesickness  as  he  saw 
the  coach  for  Ayr  pass  the  windows  of  his  lodgings,  and 
it  was  long  ere  his  heart  ceased  to  go  with  it  toward  his 
home  in  the  hill  country. 

From  November,  1824,  until  the  close  of  the  session 
in  1825,  he  was  one  of  a  preparatory  class  then  con- 
nected with  Glasgow  University.  Having  completed 
his  preliminary  work,  he  was  launched  the  following 
year  upon  the  regular  course,  and  for  four  years  more 
he  followed  the  well-tried  round  of  Latin,  Greek,  Mathe- 
matics, and  Logic,  together  with  Metaphysics  and  Physics, 
or  rather  Moral  and  Natural  Philosophy,  as  the  two  latter 
departments  were  then  called.  Finally  convinced  from 
the  traditions  of  his  home,  school,  and  church  training, 
that  a  knowledge  of  the  classics  would  open  untold 
treasures,  the  boy  toiled  laboriously  at  his  Latin  and 
Greek.  To  the  latter  he  became  devoted,  finding  special 
enjoyment,  as  he  often  said,  in  reading  Homer's  vivid  de- 
lineations of  character.  There  was  nothing  of  the  prodigy 
in  his  advancement ;  in  Mathematics  he  stood  well,  but 
he  went  no  farther  than  the  Differential  Calculus ;  in  the 
languages  his  progress  was  slow  and  laborious  but  sound. 


26  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Owing  to  the  early  age  at  which  he  entered,  he  "  cut  no 
figure"  in  the  class-rooin,  to  use  his  own  phrase.  He 
admired  and  probably  envied  the  precocious  lads  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  their  classes,  but  he  was  made  by 
them  to  feel  both  his  extreme  youth  and  his  inexperience. 
Nevertheless,  he  was  undismayed,  and  with  courageous 
self-respect  determined  that  one  day,  if  not  immediately, 
he  would  emulate  their  small  successes  in  a  larger  sphere. 
Indeed  very  few  of  Dr.  McCosh's  fellow-students  attained 
great  distinction.  Perhaps,  with  a  single  exception,  he 
rose  higher  than  any  of  them. 

Shy  and  proud,  the  young  Ayrshire  boy  made  few  ac- 
quaintances, devoting  his  energies  almost  exclusively  to 
his  books.  His  faculties  developed  slowly  and  symmetri- 
cally in  his  ambitious  but  plodding  cultivation  of  the 
classics,  and  his  hours  of  recreation  were  spent  in  mis- 
cellaneous reading.  It  was  the  time  when  a  curious 
world,  not  pampered  and  jaded  by  over-publication, 
looked  upon  the  appearance  of  anything  from  the  pens 
of  Scott,  Moore,  or  Byron  as  an  event  of  the  first  impor- 
tance. Among  a  people  of  eager  readers,  whose  scanty 
purses  precluded  their  buying  books,  the  librarians  were 
hard  beset,  and  one  of  Dr.  McCosh's  clearest  memories 
was  of  his  struggles  for  precedence  in  the  favor  of  the 
worried  and  choleric  custodian  of  the  precious  works 
which  came  into  the  library  of  Glasgow  University. 
Persisting  in  his  determination  to  secure  the  coveted 
feast  without  delay,  he  demanded  the  successive  volumes 
of  those  splendid  authors  within  a  few  days  after  pub- 
lication ;  if  unsuccessful,  he  managed  to  get  them  from 
the  circulating  libraries  in  the  city  at  the  rate  of  a  penny 
a  night  for  each. 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  27 

The  stimulus  of  such  reading  was  a  most  important 
supplement  to  the  dry  instruction  of  the  class-room,  and 
supplied  a  vitality  for  literary  life  which  was  not  given 
by  the  overworked  and  formal  professors,  whose  teaching, 
though  solid,  was  not  inspiriting.  The  course  of  instruc- 
tion was  substantial,  but  very  narrow,  and  the  professors 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  enlarging  it.  They  had  fixed 
salaries  of  a  size  entirely  inadequate  to  their  wants,  and 
depended  for  their  comfort  and  well-being  upon  the  fees 
which  they  collected,  three  guineas  for  each  student 
In  1825  the  number  of  students  had  greatly  outgrown 
the  facilities  of  the  institution.  The  few  class-rooms 
were  packed,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  instructors 
to  give  personal  attention  to  any  one  of  their  pupils.  The 
lecture  system  was  not  properly  developed,  and  the  hearers 
were  not  mature  enough  to  profit  by  it,  if  it  had  been. 
The  progress  made  by  each  student  was  determined, 
therefore,  almost  entirely  by  his  own  capacity  and  will- 
power ;  beyond  the  invaluable  routine  of  university  life 
he  received  little,  getting  a  very  slight  stimulus  and  less 
training.  It  was  notorious  that  very  many,  possibly  the 
majority,  passed  through  their  college  course  without  any 
intellectual  drill,  and  without  even  obtaining  a  minute 
acquaintance  with  the  few  required  branches.  These 
were  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  first  year,  Greek  and  Logic 
in  the  second,  Moral  Philosophy  and  Mathematics  in  the 
third,  and  in  the  fourth  year  Natural  Philosophy,  with 
optional  courses  in  the  Higher  Mathematics.  Moreover, 
these  subjects  were  not  taught  with  a  view  to  complete- 
ness in  acquisition  or  finish.  As  is  well  known,  there 
exist  in  Glasgow  University  a  number  of  foundations 
known  as  the  Snell  scholarships  which  entitle  those  who 


28  JAMES  MCCOSH 

obtain  them  to  reside  at  Oxford  for  the  completion  of 
their  studies.  It  was  a  general  feeling  that  for  the  pro- 
fessors, in  addition  to  their  regular  duties,  it  was  a  suffi- 
cient ambition  to  prepare  the  candidates  for  these  honors 
thoroughly.  Such  preparation  was  of  necessity  a  matter 
of  routine,  and  in  consequence  even  the  ablest  young  men 
were  not  instigated  to  high  and  independent  scholarship. 
Inasmuch  as  the  Snell  scholars,  and  those  of  their  fellows 
who  went  at  their  own  expense  to  England,  almost  regu- 
larly entered  the  Anglican  church  after  their  residence  in 
Oxford,  the  Scottish  Kirk,  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  had 
long  been  destitute  of  any  real  aristocracy  of  classical 
scholarship,  and  the  Glasgow  professors  remained  content 
to  prepare  their  best  youth  for  Oxford,  without  a  thought 
of  rivalling  that  famous  seat  of  learning,  or  of  elevating 
their  own  standards  to  an  equality  with  the  highest. 

What  saved  the  instruction  from  utter  mediocrity  or 
worse  was  a  system  of  regular  examinations  and  written 
exercises,  rigidly  enforced  and  honestly  carried  out.  Dr. 
McCosh  felt  in  particular  that  he  owed  more  to  the  es- 
says he  was  required  regularly  to  write  than  to  any  other, 
if  not  all  other,  elements  in  his  education.  In  all  classes 
above  the  lowest  these  essays  were  exacted  frequently 
and  peremptorily  from  each  student,  and  the  topics 
were  taken  from  among  subjects  discussed  by  the  pro- 
fessors in  the  class-room.  So  powerful  was  the  influence 
of  this  single  line  of  work  that  it  enabled  those  trained 
by  it  to  enter  the  professions  and  public  life  side  by  side 
with  their  more  favored  competitors  from  the  English 
universities,  at  a  very  slight  disadvantage.  In  this  re- 
spect the  Scottish  colleges  might  be  copied  with  profit 
by  all  academic  institutions.  Dr.  McCosh  was  so  deeply 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  29 

impressed  at  the  time  by  the  importance  of  written  work 
for  the  student  that  many  years  later,  in  both  the  institu- 
tions where  he  was  powerful  in  his  mature  life,  the  sys- 
tem was  expanded  and  emphasized  to  a  high  degree. 

The  professors  of  the  day  at  Glasgow  were  a  highly 
respectable  body  of  men,  even  though  for  the  reasons 
given  they  did  not  make  much  of  a  mark  in  the  world 
of  science  and  letters,  nor  upon  their  pupils.  One  of 
them,  Daniel  Sandford,  who  was  later  made  a  baronet, 
was  a  very  brilliant  man;  but,  being  also  ambitious,  he 
turned  aside  into  politics,  and,  though  successful  in  that 
career,  left  behind  him  no  enduring  monument  of  his 
scholarship.  The  department  in  which  the  young 
McCosh  excelled,  that  of  Mathematics,  was  presided  over 
by  a  man  so  eccentric  that  his  conduct  was  a  dangerous 
incentive  to  fun  and  disorder  among  the  students.  The 
penalty  for  irregularity  was  a  small  fine,  and  this  the 
delinquents  were  careful  to  pay  in  farthings,  so  as  to 
afford  the  greatest  merriment  to  the  assembled  class.  If 
his  back  were  turned  for  an  instant  in  drawing  or  ex- 
plaining a  diagram  on  the  blackboard,  there  was  at  once 
a  great  uproar,  and  consequently  he  regularly  presented 
the  curious  spectacle  of  demonstrating  his  propositions 
with  the  figure  behind  him.  A  common  trick  was  for  a 
student  to  ask  permission  to  leave  the  room,  and  then 
remain  until  another  would  propose  to  go  and  seek  him  ; 
a  third  would  then  obtain  liberty  to  search  for  the  other 
two,  and  so  on  until  as  many  as  time  would  permit  had 
gone  out  on  the  same  pretext.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
hour  they  would  all  return  in  a  boisterous  crowd,  each 
ostentatiously  dragging  in  the  culprit  who  had  preceded 
him. 


30  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Such  trivial  anecdotes  serve  only  to  show  how  con- 
stant school-boy  nature  is.  The  incident  of  life  in  that 
class-room  which  Dr.  McCosh  naturally  never  forgot 
was  one  connected  with  a  certain  prize.  There  were 
two  sections  in  Mathematics,  the  division  being  according 
to  age,  and  in  each  a  prize  was  awarded  to  the  best 
scholar  by  a  method  of  decision  which  was  still  in  vogue 
on  this  side  the  sea  a  generation  since,  the  votes,  namely, 
of  the  scholars.  McCosh  was  awarded  the  prize  in  the 
junior  section  by  the  suffrages  of  his  fellow-students, 
but  by  that  time  he  had  shot  up  into  a  tall,  slim  lad,  and 
the  instructor,  declaring  that  one  so  large  could  not 
possibly  be  in  the  lower  grade,  awarded  the  coveted  honor 
to  Tait,  who  was  afterward  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
The  deeply  offended  sufferer  stalked  out  of  the  class- 
room in  great  dignity.  To  his  latest  day  as  a  teacher 
Dr.  McCosh  put  forth  his  utmost  efforts,  ineffectual  as 
they  sometimes  were,  to  have  some  personal  acquain- 
tance with  each  pupil,  and  to  see  that  each  was  treated 
with  the  most  rigid  justice. 

The  natural  bent  of  the  young  Glasgow  student  was 
manifest  from  the  beginning  in  his  predilection  for 
studying  the  human  mind.  The  two  Presbyterian  clergy- 
men who  taught  Logic  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  uni- 
versity were  "  moderates,"  with  whom  McCosh  could  have 
no  affinity  or  sympathy,  ardent  and  eager  as  his  nature 
was.  One  of  them  he  felt  to  be  a  fair  disciplinarian  and 
a  good  teacher,  but  his  instruction  was  jejune  and  common- 
place. The  other  was  a  man  of  greater  power,  a  Stoic  in 
character,  and  a  Sensationalist  of  the  French  school  in  his 
philosophy,  resolving  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  in  a 
clear-cut  way  into  Sensation,  Memory,  and  Judgment 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  31 

But  neither  was  able  to  make  pupils  in  the  sense  of 
carrying  home  conviction  to  students,  and  the  highest 
merit  of  both  was  in  spurring  their  hearers  to  antago- 
nism. McCosh  became  an  extensive  reader  of  philoso- 
phy; in  particular  he  was  greatly  stirred  by  Thomas 
Brown's  lectures,  and  this  interest  developed  into  a 
deep  enthusiasm  for  the  study.  In  fact,  Brown  capti- 
vated his  boy  reader,  who  for  the  time  preferred  that 
author's  subtle  analysis  of  the  mental  processes  to  the 
more  solid  work  of  Eeid  and  Stewart,  both  of  whom  he 
ranks  far  higher  than  Brown  in  his  history  of  the  Scottish 
philosophy. 

These  earliest  investigations,  however,  led  the  student 
to  see  that  Hume  had  entirely  undermined  the  old  meta- 
physics. He  turned,  therefore,  to  the  study  of  the  great 
sceptic,  carefully  perusing  his  "  Treatise  of  Human  Nature," 
as  well  as  his  shorter  and  more  ornate  essays.  These, 
it  must  be  remembered,  were  the  pursuits  of  a  boy  not  yet 
sixteen !  Partly  for  this  very  reason,  perhaps,  the  reader 
was  neither  dazzled  by  the  brilliancy  nor  convinced  by 
the  cleverness  of  Hume's  undermining  processes.  Among 
his  philosophical  text-books  were  the  dry,  inadequate 
treatises  of  Mylne  and  Combe  on  the  mind.  The  latter  so 
exalted  natural  law  as  to  supersede  special  providence, 
and  a  youth  like  McCosh,  naturally  devout,  found  no 
rest  either  in  their  pseudo-orthodoxy  or  in  the  negations 
of  Hume.  It  was  in  consequence  of  his  private  study  that 
as  early  as  his  sixteenth  year  he  formed  the  plan  of  his 
life-work,  resolving  to  throw  himself  into  the  metaphysi- 
cal speculations  of  his  day  with  a  view  to  preparing  a 
work  which  would  express  his  own  dawning  convictions, 
and,  as  he  hoped,  have  some  influence  for  good.  Thoughts 


32  JAMES  MCCOSH 

of  the  "  Method  of  the  Divine  Government "  were  already 
floating  in  his  mind  He  had  no  sympathetic  friend  in 
whom  to  confide,  because  his  cousin,  room-mate,  and  men- 
tor, Samuel,  had  sickened  and  died.  Their  common  lodg- 
ing was  in  a  confined,  unwholesome  locality,  and  they  had 
inadequate  means  of  heating  their  rooms  in  raw  weather, 
the  chimney  being  smoky.  The  promising  comrade  was 
seized  with  a  sudden  violent  illness,  from  which  he  did 
not  recover.  His  cousin  never  forgot  the  sad  and  dreary 
journey  on  which  he  conducted  the  remains,  during  a 
dark  "  eerie "  night,  over  Mearns  moor  to  deposit  them 
in  the  graveyard  of  his  native  parish. 

It  was  perhaps  as  well  that  the  sixteen-year-old  meta- 
physician had  no  one  in  whom  to  confide  his  astounding 
aspirations,  for  the  amusement  with  which  the  announce- 
ment would  have  been  greeted  by  the  closest  friend 
might  possibly  have  checked  them.  He  was  always  sensi- 
tive to  the  indifference  which  his  comrades  and  professors 
in  Glasgow  had  shown  toward  him.  But  he  was  well 
aware  that  his  own  loneliness,  and  the  self-introversion 
produced  by  it,  were  in  no  respect  different  from  the 
experiences  of  all  his  fellows,  except  a  very  few.  During 
the  five  years  of  his  residence  at  Glasgow,  sensible  and 
able  student  as  he  was,  not  one  of  his  professors  showed 
him  any  attention,  and  being,  like  scores  and  hundreds 
of  his  comrades,  without  acquaintance  in  the  city,  he  had 
no  intercourse  with  the  society  of  the  place.  This  isola- 
tion of  the  student  is,  of  course,  characteristic  of  all 
institutions  situated  in  great  cities,  and  Dr.  McCosh  often 
remarked  with  anxiety  that  this  was  true  not  only  of 
European  but  of  American  universities.  He  believed  it 
to  be  abnormal  and  dangerous,  calculated  to  quench  the 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  33 

energy  and  embitter  the  spirit  of  a  nation's  scholars,  and 
consequently  a  phenomenon  of  capital  importance.  The 
notion  that  a  professor's  duty  began  and  ended  with  the 
instruction  and  order  of  his  class-room,  was  abhorrent  to 
him.  He  thought  it  the  most  serious  problem  of  the 
higher  education  to  secure  the  oversight  and  unremitting 
care  of  students,  without  espionage  or  any  "  injudicious 
interference  with  the  liberty  of  the  young  men."  In 
Princeton,  at  least,  he  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  devise 
and  carry  out  means  to  this  end;  but  he  felt  that  his 
success  was  only  partial.  But  of  one  thing  any  Princeton 
student  might  be  sure,  that,  as  far  as  Dr.  McCosh  was 
concerned,  no  aspiration,  however  soaring,  would  ever  be 
the  object  of  discouragement,  and  that  in  all  probability 
half-formed  purposes  would  rather  receive  an  impulse 
in  sympathetic  encouragement. 

Moreover,  as  professor  and  president,  Dr.  McCosh  strug- 
gled with  splendid  persistency  to  gratify  the  social  long- 
ings of  the  students  as  far  as  in  him  lay.  His  house,  his 
means,  his  family,  his  acquaintance,  were  all  laid  under 
tribute  that  no  youth  within  the  circle  of  his  influence 
could  ever  say  that,  during  his  formative  years,  he  had 
been  destitute  of  the  kind  word  and  friendly  handshake 
which  he  needed  for  his  encouragement  and  happiness. 
In  the  same  way  the  memories  of  Dr.  McCosh's  boyhood 
stimulated  him  to  something  far  more  than  an  academic 
interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  those  he  considered 
as  entrusted  to  him.  There  was  regular  preaching  in 
Glasgow  University,  but  the  discourses  were  never  inter- 
esting, and  were  often,  from  McCosh's  standpoint,  unsound. 
He  and  his  intimate  friends,  therefore,  frequented  the 
city  churches  preferring  the  ministrations  of  three  earnest 

3 


34  JAMES  MCCOSH 

and  devout  preachers,  Brown,  Welsh,  and  Wardlaw.  But 
they  had  no  home  feeling  in  those  churches,  as  they  would 
have  had  in  their  own  chapel,  and  the  memories  of  this 
made  him  anxious  that  extraordinary  care  should  be  taken 
of  the  students'  religious  life,  especially  when  they  were 
compelled,  as  he  believed  they  should  be,  to  attend 
religious  services.  He  thought  no  preaching  too  good  for 
them,  and  felt  that  the  teacher  was,  like  the  pastor, 
bound  to  regard  in  paternal  solicitude  both  the  religion 
and  the  morals  of  his  pupils. 

The  morals  of  Glasgow  students  reflected  in  all  proba- 
bility those  of  the  homes  from  which  they  came,  making, 
of  course,  due  allowance  for  the  relaxation  of  disci- 
pline in  the  entire  absence  of  family  and  social  con- 
trol. In  McCosh's  time  there  were  between  twenty  and 
thirty  young  men  at  Glasgow  from  the  "  Land  of  Burns," 
as  they  liked  to  call  Southern  Ayrshire.  In  the  absence 
of  other  association  they  were  naturally  thrown  much  to- 
gether, and  for  a  considerable  portion  of  his  Glasgow  life 
McCosh  was  constant  in  good  fellowship  with  them. 
Their  meetings  appear  for  some  time  to  have  been  harm- 
less enough,  their  conversation  being  of  familiar  things, 
and  their  intercourse  without  serious  blemish,  though 
there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  much  seriousness,  and 
frequently  time  hung  heavy  on  idle  hands.  Toward  the 
end,  matters  took  a  turn  for  the  worse  ;  and,  finally,  at  a 
meeting  in  the  room  of  one  of  the  number,  it  was  proposed 
that  they  should  purchase  a  pack  of  cards.  Play  began, 
and  was  continued  regularly  night  after  night  for  some 
weeks.  Though  the  stakes  were  small,  yet  they  were  suffi- 
cient to  make  gain  or  loss  a  serious  matter,  where  all  were 
of  moderate  means,  with  frugal  allowances.  McCosh  was 


LIFE  AT  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY  35 

ignorant  of  the  game,  whatever  it  was,  but  before  long  he 
saw  that  there  was  cheating,  and  his  losses  gave  him 
serious  anxiety.  Meanwhile,  most  opportunely,  the 
Christmas  holidays  came  on,  and  being  invited  to  visit  a 
former  master  in  Edinburgh,  he  gladly  accepted.  An 
opportunity  was  thus  given  him  carefully  to  review 
his  whole  position.  As  a  consequence,  he  never  again 
was  willing  to  play  cards  with  or  without  stakes,  and 
came  to  regard  them  much  as  the  Puritans  and  Cove- 
nanters had  done;  not  as  they  did,  however,  because 
their  use  was  at  that  earlier  day  characteristic  of  the  friv- 
olous and  vicious,  but  because  from  experience  he 
had  discovered  in  himself  an  instinct  which  he  feared 
might  develop  into  frivolity,  if  not  something  worse,  and 
to  permit  this  was,  he  felt,  utterly  incompatible  with  the 
lofty  purposes  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself.  "  It  is 
one  of  the  bitterest  recollections  of  my  life,"  he  wrote, 
"that  of  those  who  associated  together  more  than  one 
half  fell  into  vice  of  various  kinds,  such  as  drinking, 
licentiousness,  and  gambling,  and  never  came  to  hold  any 
position  of  importance.  I  ventured  to  tell  this  to  one 
of  our  professors,  and  was  chilled  when  he  remarked  that 
what  he  had  to  do  was  to  give  instruction  in  his  branch 
of  study,  and  that  it  was  not  his  business  to  look  after 
the  conduct  of  the  students."  Every  reader  will  recall 
much  similar  talk  in  our  own  day  and  country,  much  fine 
language  about  treating  students  as  capable  of  self-gov- 
ernment, and  responsible  for  their  own  conduct.  With 
such  theory  Dr.  McCosh  never  felt  the  slightest  sym- 
pathy, believing  that  the  formation  of  good  habits  was 
more  than  the  half  of  education,  and  that  the  morals  of 
the  young,  like  their  intellect  and  judgment,  required 


36  JAMES  MCCOSH 

constant  attention  from  their  instructors.  Within  limits 
sufficiently  wide  he  encouraged  self-reliance  and  inde- 
pendent action,  but  he  had  no  patience  with  the  relaxa- 
tion of  discipline  which  made  idleness,  deceit,  and  the 
easy  indulgence  of  vicious  tastes  possible  for  the  great 
majority  of  college  students. 

He  left  Glasgow,  having  made,  on  the  whole,  very 
little  impression  upon  his  teachers  and  fellow-students, 
having  formed  few  social  connections,  either  in  friend- 
ship or  enmity,  and  without  any  new  bonds  destined  to 
influence  Ms  later  life.  No  one  considered  him  as  having 
displayed  any  great  promise ;  but  as  he  had  found  no 
special  encouragement  or  stimulus,  he  had  experienced 
nothing  destructive  of  his  personality.  He  was  the  same 
reflecting,  cautious,  self-reliant  person  on  leaving  that  he 
had  been  on  entering,  but  with  a  horizon  greatly  enlarged, 
and  with  an  acquired  wealth  of  plain,  homely  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  It  appears  as  if  the  simple  lessons 
taught  by  the  commonplace  incidents  narrated  above  had 
been  in  a  sense  the  most  enduring  and  valuable  of  his 
long  life,  and  as  if  the  intellectual  experiences  of  his  dull 
class-room  work  and  of  his  closet  had  been  determina- 
tive of  his  whole  career.  One  thing  is  certain, —  that  he 
left  Glasgow  with  his  ambition  fired  and  his  conscience 
quickened.  His  long  intercourse  with  good  books  had 
resulted  in  a  glowing,  overpowering  desire  for  fame  as  a 
philosopher. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  LIFE   AT   EDINBURGH 
UNIVERSITY 

1829-1834 

'"PHE  magnet  which  drew  young  McCosh  toward  Edin- 
burgh, as  it  did  many  other  ambitious  young  Scotch- 
men, was  the  teaching  of  Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers,  then 
professor  of  theology  in  the  most  famous  of  the  Scotch 
universities.  At  the  same  time,  there  were  other  power- 
ful attractions.  Like  a  true  patriot,  he  rejoiced  in  the 
ancient  and  beautiful  capital  of  his  nation,  believing  that 
with  its  imposing  castle  rock,  with  the  picturesque  moun- 
tain of  Arthur's  Seat  which  overlooks  it,  with  the  deep 
ravines  which  intersect  it,  with  the  quaint,  historic  pal- 
ace of  Holyrood,  the  massive  university  buildings,  the 
ancient  High  Street,  and  the  modern  quarters  of  hand- 
some dwellings,  it  was,  all  in  all,  the  grandest  city  of  the 
world.  And  this,  as  he  sometimes  quizzically  said,  in 
spite  of  the  constant  mists  or  the  "eastern  haar,"  that 
local  March  fog  which,  creeping  up  from  the  sea,  searches 
the  inhabitants  through  and  through  with  chilliness.  To 
live  amid  the  scenes  and  associations  of  Edinburgh  was 
justly  felt  by  the  young  divinity  student  to  be  an  educa- 
tional influence  of  the  highest  value ;  for  the  associations 
were  even  more  important  than  the  natural  beauties  of 
the  place.  The  city  at  that  time  was  the  home  of  many 


38  JAMES  MCCOSH 

eminent  men,  being  a  literary  centre  which  rivalled  Lon- 
don at  its  best,  if,  indeed,  its  brilliancy  did  not  outshine 
that  of  any  other  home  of  English  thought  and  letters, 
earlier  or  later.  Fortunately  we  have  Dr.  McCosh's  own 
account  of  how  the  great  masters  of  literature  and  learn- 
ing impressed  him:  — 

Chief  of  these  in  the  city  was  the  "  Great  Unknown," 
as  he  was  called,  but  now  fast  becoming  known,  not  so 
much  by  his  poetry,  which  was  full  of  life,  as  by  the 
wonderful  novels  he  was  then  writing,  which  show  a 
greater  knowledge  of  human  nature  in  nearly  all  its 
moods  than  any  work  in  the  English  language,  except 
Shakespeare's  plays.  I  relished  Scott  because  of  his 
exhibition  of  Scottish  character,  which  in  most  cases  was 
perfect.  In  all  cases  his  pictures  of  men  and  women 
were  unostentatious  and  healthy,  and  the  style  was 
simple  and  pure.  I  was  never  introduced  to  him,  but 
I  could  get  quite  a  near  view  of  him  when  he  occupied 
his  place  as  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Session.  As  he  sat 
there  he  had  at  times  little  or  nothing  to  do,  and  his 
countenance,  though  pleasant,  was  then  somewhat  heavy 
and  dull.  But  the  young  barristers  were  proud  to  have 
a  brief  talk  with  him,  and  to  hear  a  story  from  him.  He 
was  always  willing  to  gratify  them,  and  as  he  roused 
himself  his  countenance  was  lighted  up  like  the  morning 
sky.  In  his  works  the  pictures  of  scenery  and  of  life 
and  character  are  all  natural  and  expressive. 

We  had  other  men,  outside  of  the  college  circle, 
reflecting  their  glory  on  the  students,  and  we  were 
proud  of  them.  There  was  Francis  Jeffrey,  who  became 
a  judge  in  the  Court  of  Session,  with  his  quick  eyes,  his 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  39 

keen,  restless  expression,  his  somewhat  affected  English 
pronunciation,  his  fine  and  independent  legal  discern- 
ment. He  was  the  terror  of  young  ambitious  authors, 
lest  he  should  scourge  them  in  the  "  Edinburgh  Review." 
Though  certainly  not  promoting  genius,  witness  his  pre- 
diction as  to  Wordsworth,  —  "  This  will  never  do  —  "  he 
was  nevertheless  encouraging  correct  taste,  good  sense, 
and  sound  philosophy.  Latterly  he  was  a  mighty  favor- 
ite with  Free  Church  people,  as  he  defended  the  Free 
Church  cause  with  great  ability.  We  students  had  no 
access  to  these  circles,  but  we  heard  rumors  of  them.  We 
read  regularly,  and  with  great  admiration,  the  "Edinburgh 
Review,"  "Blackwood's  Magazine,"  and  the  books  criti- 
cised in  them.  Both  those  periodicals  held  great  influence 
at  that  time,  not  only  over  Scotland  but  over  the  three 
kingdoms,  over  the  United  States,  and,  to  some  extent, 
over  the  Continent.  Their  spirit  was  abroad  in  the  very 
air,  and  we  breathed  it. 

Within  the  college  there  was  a  number  of  almost 
equally  eminent  men :  Sir  John  Leslie,  John  Wilson 
(Christopher  North),  and  Sir  William  Hamilton,  with 
memories  of  Dugald  Stewart  and  Brown.  Sir  John  Leslie 
was  then  seeking  to  clear  up  the  mysteries  of  heat.  John 
Wilson  was  a  man  of  genius,  and  the  professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy.  He  had  no  philosophy,  but  he  often  gave 
very  fine  lectures,  and  he  was  the  author  of  "  Noctes 
Ambrosianse,"  being  the  virtual  editor  of  "  Blackwood's 
Magazine"  as  well.  He  usually  came  into  the  class- 
room fresh,  as  if  he  had  just  dropped  from  the  lakes  and 
hills  of  Cumberland,  where  he  had  lived  at  one  time,  and 
the  students  always  received  him  with  a  loud  burst  of 
applause.  He  commenced  by  opening  his  portfolio,  and 


40  JAMES  MCCOSH 

read  from  a  number  of  scattered  papers,  —  some  of  them 
the  fly-leaves  of  old  letters.  I  remember  him  giving  a 
very  stimulating  lecture  on  the  Association  of  Ideas  in 
Imagination. 

But  the  most  eminent  man  in  Philosophy,  not  only  in 
Scotland,  but  throughout  the  world,  was  at  that  time  in 
Edinburgh  University.  I  allude  to  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton, then  professor  of  Civil  History.  M.  Cousin  com- 
plains of  the  British  Philosophy,  that  it  was  insular. 
Hamilton  was  the  first  to  remove  this  reproach.  He  had 
studied  at  Glasgow,  and  knew  and  appreciated  the  Scot- 
tish Philosophy.  He  had  studied  at  Oxford,  and  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  Greek  Philosophy.  At  the 
Oxford  degree  examination  he  presented  a  number  of 
works  which  astonished  the  professors.  He  had  studied 
many  a  forgotten  or  obscure  writer,  whom  others  did  not 
think  it  worth  their  while  to  look  into.  I  remember  him 
as  having  a  manly  appearance,  and  uttering  his  views  dis- 
tinctly. Many  of  the  commonplace  students  did  not 
relish  him  because  they  could  not  comprehend  him ; 
altogether,  his  expositions  were  too  abstract  for  them. 
But  the  higher  class  of  students  hung  upon  his  lectures 
as  showing  a  knowledge  far  more  extensive  than  that  of 
Hutcheson,  or  Eeid,  or  Stewart,  or  Brown. 

In  the  theological  department  there  was,  however,  the 
man  whom  I  regard  as  upon  the  whole  the  greatest  I 
have  ever  met  with,  I  mean  Chalmers.  He  was  great  as 
a  pulpit  orator,  as  the  leader  in  Church  extension  and 
philanthropy,  as  a  methodical  and  stimulating  teacher,  and 
as  a  man  full  of  love  and  humor  in  social  and  domestic 
intercourse.  He  was  the  most  eloquent  preacher  of  his 
age,  being  distinguished  by  the  philosophic  depths  of 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  41 

the  truths  he  expounded,  by  the  great  amplitude  and 
expressiveness  of  his  illustrations,  and  by  the  force  of 
his  manner.  I  embraced  every  opportunity  of  hearing 
him.  I  was  more  moved  by  him  than  by  any  man  I 
ever  listened  to.  He  had  commonly  only  one  idea,  or 
rather  one  principle,  in  his  discourse,  but  it  was  a  grand 
one,  lying  deep  down  in  the  government  of  God,  or  in 
the  depths  of  the  human  heart ;  and  he  so  expounded  it 
that  he  fixed  it  in  the  mind  forever.  His  whole  soul 
was  evidently  in  his  discourse,  and,  I  may  add,  his 
whole  body  in  action  from  head  to  foot.  One  Sabbath 
evening  he  complained  to  his  wife  that  his  leg  was  so 
sore.  "  No  wonder,"  she  said,  "  for  you  used  it  so  vehe- 
mently to-day  in  the  pulpit." 

Some  refined  Englishman  spoke  of  his  language  as 
barbarous,  and  no  doubt  it  had  a  rich  odor  of  Fifeshire, 
but  it  was  throughout  massive  and  expressive.  I  believe 
he  exercised  a  greater  influence  for  good  on  his  country- 
men than  any  minister  since  John  Knox.  He  made  the 
old  Calvinistic  creed  of  Scotland  look  reasonable  and 
philosophic,  generous  and  lovable.  He  will  be  remem- 
bered in  Scotland  as  the  deliverer  from  the  moderatism 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  the  great  promoter  of  Church 
extension  when  the  population  was  growing  beyond  the 
means  of  grace,  as  the  greatest  defender  of  the  spiritual 
independence  and  freedom  of  the  Church  when  it  was 
being  enslaved  by  political  patronage,  and  as  the  able 
leader  out  of  the  Church  established  by  law.  In  particu- 
lar, he  devised  and  organized  that  General  Sustentation 
Fund,  which  was  the  main  support  of  the  Free  Church 
ministers  when,  by  their  secession,  they  lost  their  state 
endowments. 


42  JAMES  MCCOSH 

To  us  he  was  one  of  the  great  teachers  of  his  age,  he 
was  certainly  the  greatest  I  ever  studied  under.  He  was 
methodical  in  his  class  arrangements  and  in  the  examina- 
tion of  his  students ;  but  his  grand  excellence  lay  in  the 
enthusiasm  which  was  kindled  from  the  fire  of  his  own 
heart,  and  propagated  among  all  the  young  men  under  him. 
It  may  be  allowed  that  he  was  not  a  minutely  erudite 
scholar,  and  that  his  expositions  of  Scripture  were  not 
always  critically  correct,  but  he  unfolded  great  principles 
which  became  the  guides  of  our  opinions  and  of  our 
lives.  He  began,  when  minister  in  Glasgow,  the  great 
work  of  raising  the  lapsed  classes  who  had  been  allowed 
to  sink  so  low  during  the  reign  of  moderatism.  Not  a 
few  of  us  were  sent  out  by  him  on  missionary  work  in 
the  Cowgate,  and  among  the  degraded  districts  of  Edin- 
burgh. He  sent  forth  the  great  body  of  his  students 
bent,  when  they  became  ministers,  not  merely  on  preach- 
ing the  whole  Gospel  on  the  Sabbath,  but  specially  on 
visiting  among  the  people  during  the  week,  on  looking 
after  the  non-church-going,  and  the  outcast,  and  on 
securing,  according  to  Christ's  command,  that  the  Gospel 
"  be  preached  to  every  creature." 

There  was  also  in  the  theological  department  Dr. 
Welsh,  sprung  from  a  well-known  Presbyterian  family 
in  Dumfrieshire,  first  a  minister  in  a  country  congrega- 
tion in  the  south  of  Scotland,  then  called  to  Glasgow, 
and  at  that  time  Professor  of  Church  History  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  He  had  earned  a  reputation 
as  having  been  the  biographer  of  Brown,  the  meta- 
physician who  introduced  the  French  analysis  into  the 
philosophy  of  Keid  and  Stewart.  I  am  under  great 
obligations  to  him.  He  pronounced  a  warm  eulogium  on 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  43 

one  of  my  discourses,  such  as  I  had  never  had  before 
from  any  professor.  I  remember  that  I  delivered  it 
before  him  very  sheepishly,  but  the  students  cheered 
me.  He  said  he  held  his  fingers  in  my  manuscript 
counting,  as  he  read  it,  the  pages  to  the  close,  in  the 
hope  it  would  not  end  too  soon.  In  subsequent  years 
I  owed  my  appointment  to  the  church  in  Brechin  to  Dr. 
Welsh,  who  recommended  me  to  Dr.  Eutherfurd,  then 
Lord  Advocate.  Dr.  Welsh  was  a  careful  professor,  but 
he  did  not  wander  into  the  wider  fields  which  Hamilton 
was  opening. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
when  I  entered  it  in  1829.  I  worked  most  diligently 
and  conscientiously  on  the  lectures  of  the  professors. 
I  was  moved  most  by  the  lectures  of  Chalmers,  which 
raised  me  from  day  to  day  above  myself  and  above  the 
world. 

In  my  early  Edinburgh  life  an  incident  occurred  which 
led  me  to  form  a  resolution  which  I  have  ever  since 
kept.  As  I  was  paying  my  fee  to  one  of  my  instructors, 
he  made  many  professions  of  kindness  to  me.  A  few 
weeks  after  I  called  on  him  on  some  reason  or  pretext. 
On  going  out  of  the  door  I  stood  a  minute  or  two,  look- 
ing out  for  the  next  place  in  the  college  square  I  meant 
to  go  to,  when  I  heard  the  professor  scolding  the  servant 
who  had  let  me  in.  "  Did  I  not  tell  you  I  was  not  to  be 
interrupted,  and  you  let  in  that  impudent  fellow,"  he 
cried,  as  he  imperiously  threatened  the  man  that  if  he 
ever  again  did  such  a  deed  he  would  be  instantly  dis- 
missed. I  formed  a  resolution  on  the  instant  never 
again  to  call  on  any  one  unless  I  had  business  with  him. 
I  believe  our  American  interviewers  are  often  led  astray 


44  JAMES  MCCOSH 

in  this  way.  I  believe  that  our  famous  men  often 
pose  —  that  is,  assume  attitudes  —  when  waited  on  by 
strangers,  who  do  not,  in  consequence,  get  a  correct  view 
of  their  character.  I  believe  I  have  carried  my  inde- 
pendence too  far,  and  have  avoided  persons  who  would 
have  treated  me  kindly,  and  have  been  of  use  to  me. 

I  found  that  in  Edinburgh  University  there  was  not 
as  much  commonplace,  useful  study  exacted  as  in  Glas- 
gow, but  the  spirit  of  the  place  was  literary  and  philo- 
sophical, and  to  a  small  extent  scientific.  There  I 
entered  on  a  new  life.  I  had  been  five  years  at  Glasgow, 
and  was  reputable  in  all  my  classes ;  but  I  was  never  in 
the  house  of  any  of  the  professors,  nor  had  any  private 
intercourse  with  them.  I  do  not  blame  them  for  this,  as 
the  number  of  students  was  large,  and  they  could  not 
attend  to  them  all.  In  Edinburgh,  the  Divinity  students 
were  asked  regularly  from  time  to  time  to  the  houses  of 
the  professors,  and  for  years  before  I  left  I  had  a  general 
invitation  from  Dr.  Chalmers  to  take  supper  Friday  night 
or  breakfast  on  Saturday  morning  with  him.  Here  I  was 
sure  to  meet  with  many  eminent  foreigners  from  the 
Continent  and  America,  and  I  profited  by  the  contact 
with  them.  From  this  time  any  ability  I  had  began  to 
develop  and  show  itself.  My  professors  and  fellow- 
students  appreciated  me  as  they  had  never  done  before. 
Dr.  Chalmers  criticised  me  kindly.  I  was  particularly 
indebted  to  Dr.  Welsh,  professor  of  Church  History. 

In  my  theological  course,  my  reading  was  extensive 
and  promiscuous.  I  did  not  pay  so  much  attention  as  I 
ought  to  the  critical  study  of  the  Scriptures.  I  did  not 
dive  very  deep  into  the  Fathers,  though  I  made  myself 
acquainted  with  Justin  Martyr,  and  admired  his  Platonic 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  45 

spirit.  I  appreciated  thoroughly  the  higher  philosophy 
of  Augustine ;  I  dipped  into  Plato,  and  studied  Cicero,  all 
for  theological  purposes.  In  modern  theological  litera- 
ture I  read  the  common  works  which  opposed  or  estab- 
lished the  orthodox  doctrines  of  divinity.  I  liked  the 
works  which  dealt  with  high  generalizations,  such  as 
Davison  on  "  Prophecy."  Butler's  "  Analogy "  was  one 
of  our  text-books.  I  profoundly  pondered  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, but  was  at  times  irritated  by  the  severity  of  his 
system,  and  could  never  fully  acknowledge  as  either 
philosophical  or  scriptural  truth  his  denial  of  the  free- 
dom of  the  will.  I  lightened  and  brightened  my  severer 
studies  by  extensive  reading  in  Christian  biography. 

I  spent  a  considerable  portion  of  my  time  in  attending 
Jamieson's  lectures  on  Natural  History,  and  in  studying 
I/yell's  "  Principles  of  Geology."  I  see  a  Providence  in 
my  continuing  from  that  date  to  give  a  great  deal  of 
attention  to  the  natural  sciences  ;  such  acquaintance  as  I 
have  with  them  has  been  of  great  service  to  me  since 
I  ventured  to  become  a  defender  of  the  faith.  I  read  a 
paper  on  the  subject  of  geology  before  a  large  audience  in 
the  University  of  Edinburgh.  Many  years  after,  I  did  a 
little  service  in  America  to  the  doctrine  of  evolution, 
which  was  much  doubted  and  suspected  by  the  religious 
public.  I  may  claim  to  have  been  the  founder  of  a  nice 
little  school  of  Natural  History  in  Princeton  College,  of 
which  Professors  Macloskie,  Scott,  and  Osborn  have 
been  the  able  instructors. 

But  my  taste  all  along  was  for  Mental  Philosophy, 
which  I  sometimes  studied  when  I  should  have  been 
attending  to  theology.  At  that  time  I  was  pondering 
the  deep  questions  of  natural  law,  with  special  reference 


46  JAMES  MCCOSH 

to  Combe's  "  Constitution  of  Man,"  which  was  exercising 
a  great  popular  influence.  I  gave  to  the  Theological 
Society  the  ribs  of  what  in  after  years,  when  clothed  in 
flesh  and  blood,  became  my  work  on  the  "Method  of 
Divine  Government,  Physical  and  Moral."  The  most  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  Society,  who  afterward  became 
the  not  very  successful  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in 
Edinburgh,  attacked  me  ferociously,  from  what  motive  I 
never  could  determine.  My  spirit  was  aroused,  and  I 
defended  myself  with  considerable  pluck,  and  carried  with 
me  the  students,  who  a  short  time  after  elected  me  one  of 
their  presidents.  Henceforth  I  became  one  of  the  leaders 
in  the  theological  department.  In  this,  as  in  some  other 
cases,  I  have  got  more  good  from  my  reverses  than  from 
my  successes. 

There  were  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  a  number 
of  literary  societies,  some  of  a  more  private,  and  others 
of  a  more  public  character,  such  as  the  Speculative,  which 
had  called  forth  some  of  the  great  public  statesmen  of 
the  day.  I  was  a  member  of  several  of  these  societies. 
We  discussed  the  various  topics  with  considerable  keen- 
ness. In  the  Theological  Society  I  twice  opened  the 
debate  on  our  great  Church  question,  in  both  cases  having 
Mr.  Henry  Moncreiff,  son  of  Lord  Moncreiff,  as  my  oppo- 
nent. On  the  first  occasion,  the  debate  was  on  "  The  veto 
of  the  people  on  the  presentation  of  a  licentiate ;  shall  it 
be  with  reasons  or  without  reasons  ? "  I  argued  that  the 
reason  should  not  be  required,  as  it  would  leave  the 
presentation  in  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  who  would 
have  to  decide  the  case.  Next  year  the  question  was, 
"Shall  patronage  be  abolished?"  and  I  took  the  side  that 
it  should,  and  the  election,  under  judicious  restrictions, 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  47 

left  with  the  people.  To  this  issue  the  Church  was  at 
last  obliged  to  come. 

The  war  against  established  churches  began  at  this 
time,  and  was  carried  on  keenly  by  the  Dissenters  in 
England  and  the  Seceders  in  Scotland.  The  theological 
students  in  the  university  took  up  the  defence.  Chalmers 
was  regarded  in  England,  as  well  as  in  Scotland,  as  the 
ablest  defender  of  the  churches  established  by  law.  He 
was  greatly  impressed  with  the  value  of  the  parochial 
system  of  Scotland  as  providing  ministers  for  every  one 
of  the  people.  His  students  all  took  the  same  side,  and 
they  issued  some  pamphlets  arguing  that,  while  the 
Church  and  state  were  different,  the  one  caring  for  life 
and  property,  the  other  for  the  moral  and  spiritual  good 
of  man,  they  yet  ought  to  unite,  and  would  thereby 
strengthen  each  other,  and  accomplish  high  and  important 
ends.  Most  of  us  were  eager  to  reform  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  that  it  might  fulfil  these  high  purposes,  and 
especially  make  the  whole  land  Christian.  I  agreed  with 
these  views;  but  somehow  I  had  a  deep,  unexpressed 
feeling  that  the  time  was  coming  when  the  variety  of 
sects  would  make  it  impossible  for  any  one  church  to  be 
established.  So  I  never  wrote  on  the  subject,  nor  took  any 
active  part  in  the  struggle. 

"We  students  of  Edinburgh  had  much  intercourse  with 
each  other  in  our  rooms.  We  discussed  every  sort  of 
subject,  political,  religious,  philosophic,  and  literary.  On 
all  points  we  had  opinions,  and  pronounced  an  opinion 
which  sometimes  was  and  sometimes  was  not  of  much 
value.  The  consequence  was  that  we  had  a  great  deal  of 
life  in  the  theological  department ;  but  some  of  us  did 
not  inquire  into  our  spiritual  state  before  God  as 


48  JAMES  MCCOSH 

we  should  have  done.     Yet  there  were  times  when  we 
did  so. 

It  seems  that  I  opened  my  mind  fully  to  John  Ander- 
son, with  whom  I  was  in  constant  intercourse.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  poor  blind  man  from  the  Water  of  Urr,  in 
Kirkcudbrightshire,  who  came  to  beg  his  bread  in  the 
streets  of  Edinburgh.  Both  father  and  son  made  friends 
to  themselves,  and  the  son  had  passed  through  college. 
The  son  was  tall  and  gaunt,  but  was  possessed  of  consid- 
erable genius,  and  was  of  fervent,  if  not  consistent,  piety. 
He  took  a  fancy  for  me  on  account  of  some  supposed 
independence  and  originality  in  my  views.  On  my 
writing  to  him  on  my  spiritual  state,  he  wrote  me  in 
reply : 

"  The  truth  is,  I  felt  myself  little  in  a  capacity  to  answer  the 
disclosure  you  then  made  to  me  of  your  spiritual  state  in  a 
becoming  manner.  Neither  yet  do  I  feel  myself  able  to  do  so. 
I  have  indeed  often  thought  of  you.  I  have  thought  of  you 
with  tears  as  a  dear  friend  in  great  extremity;  and  I  have 
prayed  for  you  with  all  the  earnestness  that  a  miserable  sinner 
like  myself  can  feel  and  express  in  behalf  of  one  he  extremely 
loves,  that  God  may  be  pleased  to  show  you  His  glory  in  the 
face  of  Christ  crucified,  to  let  in  so  powerfully  upon  your  soul 
that  you  shall  be  made  willing  instantly,  and  be  filled  with  a 
determination  to  glory  in  nothing  but  in  His  Son,  by  whom 
the  world  is  crucified  to  you,  and  you  to  this  world.  But  who 
is  this,  you  will  say,  who  thus  prays  for  me  ?  My  dear  McCosh, 
it  tortures  me  to  think  that  you  have  such  reason  to  say  so. 
We  ought  to  have  spoken  of  these  things  before,  like  men  in 
earnest.  We  who  sympathize  with  each  other  so  largely  in 
everything  else,  ought  to  have  opened  our  minds  to  each  other 
on  this  most  important  of  all  subjects,  and  without  reserve. 
But  you  know  how  we  acted,  and  many  a  pang  it  has  cost  me 


LIFE  AT  EDINBURGH  UNIVERSITY  49 

when  I  think  how  much  the  spirit  of  the  world  was  in  our 
intercourse,  and  how  little  of  the  meek  and  lowly  spirit  of  the 
disciple  of  Jesus.  You  know  something  of  my  life,  and  you 
must  remember  some  of  my  positive  sins ;  but  I  can  say  that 
the  happiest  moments  are  those  spent  in  converse  with  God 
and  in  reading  His  Word.  My  hopes  for  eternity  hang  on  the 
finished  work  of  Christ.  I  think  I  have  begun  the  divine  life. 
Sometimes  I  am  full  of  life  and  spirit  and  joy;  at  other  times 
I  am  dead  and  cold  and  heartless,  exactly  in  proportion  as  I 
use  the  means  and  engage  in  my  duties  heartily  as  unto  God, 
and  not  unto  man,  considering  what  has  been  done  for  me.  I 
am  a  most  unprofitable  servant  and  a  vile  sinner.  I  am  always 
striving  to  do  better,  but  I  feel  every  day  more  and  more  that 
I  am  far  from  what  I  ought  to  be.  But  I  desire  simply  to  rely 
on  the  aid  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  enable  me  to  work  out  my 
salvation  with  fear  and  much  trembling." 

John  Anderson  and  William  Wilson  were  both  my 
very  intimate  friends,  and  yet  they  were  of  a  very  differ- 
ent character.  The  former  became  a  missionary  at 
Madras  in  India,  and  was  very  energetic  and  successful. 
The  latter  was  clear,  judicious,  and  cool,  and  was  so 
known  by  all  his  fellow-students.  After  being  minister 
in  several  country  places,  he  took  charge  of  the  General 
Sustentation  Fund  of  the  Free  Church,  established  by 
Chalmers  to  support  in  a  decent  manner  the  ministers 
who  had  given  up  their  stipends. 


CHAPTER  V 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  FIEST   PASTORATE. 

ARBROATH 

1834-1839 

OO  busy,  useful,  and  happy  was  James  McCosh's 
student  life  at  Edinburgh  that  he  was  almost  loath 
to  enter  upon  what  he  then  believed  would  be  his  mis- 
sion, the  work  of  the  ministry.  For  nearly  a  year  after 
the  completion  of  his  regular  theological  course,  he  lin- 
gered on,  reading  extensively  in  all  departments  of 
thought,  but  in  particular,  acquiring  as  thorough  a 
knowledge  of  the  physical  sciences  as  the  opportunities 
furnished  by  Edinburgh  would  permit.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  at 
its  opening  an  institution  so  famous  as  the  University 
of  Edinburgh  furnished  little  or  no  instruction  in  the 
sciences  of  nature,  and  that  McCosh  was  driven  to 
extra-academic  quarters  in  pursuit  of  those  studies.  The 
foundation  he  laid  in  this  irregular  way  was  nevertheless 
a  solid  one,  and  the  acquaintance  with  physics,  chemis- 
try, geology,  and  biology  which  he  obtained  by  his  own 
exertions  in  youth  was  invaluable  in  middle  and  ad- 
vanced age,  when  he  came  practically  to  deal  with  the 
encyclopaedia  of  knowledge,  the  classification  of  the 
sciences,  and  the  proportionate  importance  of  various 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBROATH  51 

branches  of  learning,  both  as  a  philosopher  and  an 
educator. 

There  was  also  something  more  than  zeal  for  knowl- 
edge in  the  young  theologian's  lingering,  —  it  was  a  certain 
hesitancy  about  taking  the  irrevocable  step.  Largely 
influenced  by  his  parents'  wishes,  he  had  advanced  from 
stage  to  stage  of  the  course  preparatory  to  entering  the 
ministry  without  any  special  sense  of  being  impelled  by 
his  own  instinct  or  reason.  Carefully  trained  in  the  pre- 
cepts of  strict  morality,  and  inspired  with  high  motives, 
he  had  led  a  life  of  purity  and  industry  throughout  his 
student  years,  and  had  found  himself  open  to  the  influ- 
ences of  Chalmers's  preaching  and  teaching,  being  far 
from  averse  to  practical  work  among  the  lapsed  classes 
in  the  Edinburgh  slums.  Nevertheless,  having  become 
more  and  more  conscious  of  his  bias  toward  an  intel- 
lectual life  and  the  pursuit  of  original  investigation, 
especially  in  the  line  of  mental  philosophy,  it  was  a  real 
question  whether  he  could  abandon  these  enticing  paths, 
in  which  he  had  received  the  personal  stimulus  and  en- 
couragement of  such  a  man  as  Sir  William  Hamilton, 
for  the  less  congenial  work  of  a  preacher  and  pastor, 
even  though  directed  to  the  latter  course  by  the  pre- 
cepts of  Chalmers.  Long  afterwards,  Dr.  McCosh,  con- 
versing with  a  Princeton  pupil  about  the  personal 
influence  of  teachers,  made  a  special  reference  to  Sir 
William  Hamilton  and  asked,  "  Do  you  know  the  great- 
est thing  he  ever  said  to  me  ?  It  was  this :  '  So  reason 
as  to  have  but  one  step  between  your  premise  and  its 
conclusion.' " 

Doubtless  this  style  of  concrete  reasoning  was  what 
had  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  ministry  at  the 


52  JAMES  MCCOSH 

critical  moment  of  choice  in  1834  He  had  just  com- 
pleted an  essay  on  the  Stoic  Philosophy,  which  his  great 
philosophical  master  commended  in  the  highest  terms, 
and  for  which  the  University  conferred  on  the  author 
its  degree  of  M.A.,  an  academic  distinction  which  was 
a  very  high  and  much  coveted  honor.  But  for  all  that, 
something  was  burning  in  his  heart  which  could  not  be 
quenched,  and  the  influence  of  Chalmers  prevailed.  Of 
what  followed  the  account  can  be  given  in  Dr.  McCosh's 
own  words. 

I  was  licensed  by  the  presbytery  of  Ayr  in  the  Spring 
of  1834,  a  member  being  appointed  to  tell  me  that  I 
must  make  my  preaching  less  abstract,  and  leave  out 
all  such  terms  as  "transcendental,"  which  I  had  used. 
My  conscience  told  me  the  same  thing,  and  I  labored 
with  excessive  care  to  acquire  clearness  in  language, 
and  to  avoid  metaphysical  statements  in  my  preaching. 
My  aim  was  to  become  a  minister  of  a  country  parish, 
and  I  determined  to  make  myself  understood  by  every 
one.  In  my  carefulness  about  the  future,  I  had  written 
about  a  score  of  sermons,  but  the  greater  number  would 
not  preach,  and  in  the  course  of  time  I  burned  them. 
I  never  could  prepare  useful  and  acceptable  sermons 
until  I  became  a  pastor,  visited  among  my  people,  and 
learned  their  wants  from  themselves.  Meanwhile  I 
formed  the  resolution  never  to  preach  anything  but 
the  gospel  as  alone  fitted  to  move  and  regenerate  man- 
kind ;  and  to  do  this  in  language  which  old  and  young, 
and  rich  and  poor  could  comprehend.  My  ideal  is 
carried  out  in  the  "  Gospel  Sermons,"  which  I  selected 
for  publication  upwards  of  fifty  years  afterwards. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBRO ATH  53 

I  wrote  my  sermons  with  care,  and  committed  them 
to  memory.  I  believe  that  the  delivery  was  felt  to  be 
stiff  by  myself  and  the  people  for  many  years.  In  the 
end,  I  had  my  papers  before  me  in  the  pulpit,  and  I 
believe  that  my  manner  was  more  free  than  it  had  been 
before.  If  I  had  to  live  my  ministerial  life  over  again, 
I  would  read  every  Sabbath  forenoon  with  as  much  free- 
dom as  possible,  and  suit  myself  to  those  who  wished 
instruction,  while  in  the  afternoon  or  evening  I  would 
fill  my  mind  with  the  subject,  and  seek  to  stimulate  the 
people.  In  this  way,  I  might  acquire  both  methods,  each 
serving  a  good  purpose. 

I  preached  all  around,  both  in  town  and  country,  but 
chiefly  in  the  country.  I  had  a  good  horse,  and  set  out 
on  the  Saturday  with  my  sermons  in  a  saddle-bag  behind 
me,  preached  twice  on  the  Sabbath,  and  returned  home 
on  the  Monday,  the  minister  on  one  occasion  giving  a 
hint  to  me  by  telling  his  servant  to  boil  two  eggs  for 
me,  as  I  was  about  to  travel. 

I  was  always  received  very  pleasantly  by  the  minister, 
and  have  very  pleasing  recollections  of  the  manses  of 
Scotland.  At  this  time  the  "Moderate"  regime  was  pass- 
ing away  in  favor  of  the  revived  "  Evangelism."  I  made 
the  acquaintance  both  of  the  moderate  and  evangelical 
clergy.  Both  parties  opened  their  minds  to  me.  The 
former  had  little  or  no  faith  in  the  Westminster  con- 
fession, to  which  they  had  sworn,  nor  in  conversion,  nor 
in  the  atonement  for  sin.  They  were  rankled  by  the 
discrepancy  between  their  real  and  their  avowed  creed, 
and  often  spoke  bitterly  of  those  opposed  to  them.  The 
latter  were  somewhat  afraid  of  the  people  having  too 
much  power,  were  trusting  to  the  veto  law,  and  were 


54  JAMES  MCCOSH 

not  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  patronage.  Some  of  the 
best  of  the  evangelicals  were  full  of  hope,  expecting  a 
new  era  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  having  no  idea 
that  it  would  be  disestablished  when  reformed.  This  I 
confess  was  my  feeling. 

Having  no  particular  office,  and  wishing  to  secure  the 
influence  of  landed  proprietors,  I  became  tutor  in  the 
excellent  family  of  Mr.  Graham  of  Meiklewood,  near 
Sterling. 

Meanwhile  a  ministerial  vacancy  occurred  in  Kirk- 
michael,  a  parish  adjoining  my  native  place,  by  the  death 
of  a  moderate  minister  of  no  great  talent  and  no  religious 
zeal,  who  had  contented  himself  with  giving  sound  moral 
advice  on  the  Sabbath  with  a  very  uncertain  gospel  sound. 
The  people,  consisting  of  farmers  with  their  families,  of 
village  tradesmen  and  shopkeepers  and  farm-servants, 
were  longing  for  something  better,  and,  being  unable  to 
secure  access  to  the  village  church,  they  met  in  the  street 
on  a  cold  evening  in  March  and  resolved  to  recommend 
me  to  the  crown,  which  had  the  patronage.  In  order  to 
assure  success  they  further  resolved  to  petition  their  her- 
itors, l  as  likely  to  be  consulted.  The  whole  parish,  the 
whole  district,  became  agitated.  Mr.  John  McClymont, 
an  accomplished  farmer,  corresponded  with  me,  and  urged 
my  acceptance  of  the  call  on  the  part  of  the  people.  I 
resolved  to  stand  by  them,  and  they  stood  steadfastly  by 
me.  I  got  the  favor  of  about  one-third  of  the  heritors, 
but  the  majority  were  against  the  popular  movement,  and 
against  me ;  among  my  opponents  was  a  vain  merchant 
who  had  been  appointed  a  trustee  by  my  father  to  look 
after  the  family  property. 

1  The  Scotch  designation  for  the  proprietors  or  landholders  of  the 
parish. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBROATH  55 

The  Tories  were  in  power  at  the  time,  and  issued  the 
presentation  to  a  rival  candidate  who  had  only  one  vote 
at  the  popular  election.  This  was  on  a  Friday ;  on  the 
Monday  following,  the  Liberals  came  into  power  in  Par- 
liament, and  would  certainly  have  given  me  the  presen- 
tation had  not  the  whole  matter  been  foreclosed.  There 
was  some  intention  of  vetoing  the  presentee,  but  a  major- 
ity could  not  be  got  to  do  this.  The  case  thus  ended  in 
a  loss  and  heavy  discouragement  to  the  popular  move- 
ment throughout  the  whole  district.  After  the  disruption, 
I  helped  to  set  up  a  Free  Church  in  Crosshill,  a  village  in 
the  parish,  and  the  Eev.  John  McCosh,  a  distant  cousin 
of  mine,  partially  endowed  it. 

I  was  now  anxious  to  have  a  ministerial  charge.  The 
first  place  I  was  settled  in  was  the  Abbey  Chapel,  Arbroath, 
or  as  it  is  called  in  these  advancing  days,  Abbey  Church, 
being  led  thereto  by  my  college  friend,  the  Eev.  John 
Laird,  then  assistant  minister  in  the  parish  church.  There 
I  was  promised  one  hundred  pounds  a  year ;  afterwards  I 
received  a  little  more.  It  was  about  the  midland  of  Scot- 
land on  the  east  coast,  with  very  grand  cliffs  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, described  by  Scott  in  "  The  Antiquary ; "  l  along 
these  I  often  walked,  and  from  them  I  got  a  clear  view 
of  the  Bell  Rock  Lighthouse,  which  shines  so  cheerily  to 
save  sailors  from  these  terrible  waves. 

My  congregation  consisted  mainly  of  small  manufac- 
turers, shopkeepers,  artisans,  tradespeople  and  laborers, 
with  a  considerable  body  of  seafarers  sailing  upon  vessels 
engaged  in  bringing  flax  from  the  Baltic,  together  with 
their  families.  There  were  also  a  very  few  from  the 
higher  class,  such  as  lawyers,  teachers,  and  doctors.  I 

1  It  is  believed  that  Arbroath  was  the  Fairport  of  Scott's  famous  novel. 


56  JAMES  MCCOSH 

prepared  my  sermons  industriously  on  the  first  three  or 
four  days  of  the  week,  and  committed  them  on  the  Satur- 
day. The  discourses  were  clear,  full  of  truth,  at  times 
notional,  —  that  is,  full  of  my  own  notions.  I  really 
meant  to  be  earnest,  and  the  people  believed  me  to  be  so. 
In  looking  back  on  my  ministry,  I  see  that  I  was  wanting 
in  tenderness.  I  had  more  of  the  manner  of  Paul  than  of 
Jesus  or  of  John.  Both  fathers  and  mothers,  young  men 
and  maidens,  bore  most  generously  with  the  young  man 
settled  among  them. 

I  had  a  parish  of  about  two  thousand  people  allotted 
to  me,  and  visited  from  house  to  house,  passing  by  no  one, 
but  calling  on  all,  according  to  the  ancient  parochial  sys- 
tem of  Scotland.  The  people  of  all  classes  and  of  the 
various  denominations  welcomed  my  visits.  I  had  a  deep 
interest  in  speaking  to  the  families.  I  found  out  whether 
they  attended  church,  and  never  found  fault  when  they 
went  to  some  other  church  than  mine.  I  remember  that  a 
young  man  felt  very  much  caught  when,  after  declaring 
that  he  attended  the  Abbey  Church,  he  admitted  in  re- 
sponse to  my  question  if  he  had  ever  seen  me  there  that  he 
had  not,  though  I  had  ministered  there  for  months.  I  fell 
in  with  him  when  he  was  just  giving  up  church  attendance, 
and  I  managed  to  induce  him  to  wait  on  my  ministry.  I 
inquired  especially  about  the  children,  and  thus  secured 
the  favor  of  the  parents  and  of  the  children  themselves. 
I  spoke  most  earnestly  to  parents  about  their  children, 
and  we  prayed  for  them.  I  often  left  the  mother  in  tears. 
I  got  a  great  hold  of  the  sailors'  wives,  and  talked  with 
them  about  their  husbands  away  on  the  Baltic  Sea,  and 
the  sailors  were  grateful  when  they  came  home  for  the 
attention  I  had  paid  to  their  wives  and  children  in  their 
absence. 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBROATH  57 

I  had  at  times  difficult  offices  to  perform.  When  a 
sailor  was  shipwrecked,  the  people  came  to  me  to  announce 
the  calamity  to  his  widow.  I  tried  to  prepare  her  first  by 
talking  about  death,  or  reading  the  chapter  about  the 
resurrection  of  Lazarus.  But  this  scarcely  alleviated  the 
trial.  She  commonly  anticipated  the  drift  of  my  discourse 
and  would  burst  out,  "  Tell  me,  is  my  husband  lost  ? "  I 
had  to  let  nature  take  its  course.  I  left  her  with  her 
friends  or  neighbors,  and  came  back  a  few  hours  later  or 
the  next  day,  when  she  could  listen  to  me.  I  have  at 
this  moment  a  most  vivid  remembrance  of  these  scenes, 
which  were  among  an  unsophisticated  people  with  no 
deceit  or  disguises.  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  an  old 
man  who  fell  dead  in  my  arms,  as  I  was  praying  with 
him.  I  remember  how  distracted  I  felt  when  I  had  to 
comfort  a  member  of  my  church  whose  husband,  a  high 
class  teacher,  had  committed  suicide. 

As  I  was  trustworthy,  I  was  able  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  the  people,  and  they  often  unbosomed  themselves  to 
me.  Wives  told  me  of  their  trials  with  their  drunken  or 
passionate  husbands,  husbands  spoke  of  their  difficulty 
with  their  capricious  wives,  and  parents  of  the  wayward- 
ness of  their  children.  I  always  sympathized  with  them 
and  gave  them  the  best  advice  I  could.  I  was  able  in  this 
way  to  soothe  many  a  sorrow,  and  to  heal  wounds  that 
had  been  long  rankling. 

I  organized  Sabbath  Schools,  carefully  looking  out  for 
competent  and  pious  teachers.  I  was  not  particularly 
successful  in  addressing  children,  but  I  set  up  a  special 
class  for  young  men  and  women  upwards  of  fifteen  years 
of  age.  I  had  commonly  seventy  or  eighty,  often  a  hun- 
dred or  a  hundred  and  twenty,  in  attendance.  I  selected 


58  JAMES  MCCOSH 

a  subject,  such  as  a  book  of  Scripture  which  we  studied, 
or  a  particular  topic,  such  as  prophecy,  or  the  history  of 
an  era  of  Old  or  New  Testament  History.  I  prepared 
with  great  care  for  my  teaching  and  gave  information  not 
always  of  a  commonplace  kind,  or  else  I  sought  to  offer 
wise  and  useful  reflections.  I  examined  the  young  people 
regularly  and  systematically,  always  giving  the  subject  a 
practical  direction.  In  teaching  such  advanced  classes,  I 
prepared  myself  for  my  work  in  after  years  in  the  col- 
leges at  Belfast  and  Princeton.  I  cannot  recall  these 
scenes  without  the  deepest  emotion.  I  hope  to  meet 
with  members  of  these  classes  in  heaven.  On  these 
occasions  I  got  acquainted  with  the  character  of  young 
men  and  women,  and  was  able  to  deal  with  them 
personally. 

One  day,  in  passing  along  the  main  street,  I  came 
upon  a  butcher  who  was  cutting  up  a  huge  ox.  I  asked 
him  to  give  me  a  few  minutes  to  speak  to  him,  his  wife 
and  family.  His  wife  earnestly  entreated  him  to  do  so, 
but  he  answered  roughly  that  he  did  not  wish  for  such 
visits.  So  I  had  to  pass  on,  but  I  whispered  in  his  ear 
as  I  passed  that  if  ever  he  was  on  a  bed  of  sickness  he 
could  send  for  me  at  any  hour  of  the  night  or  day.  A 
few  weeks  after,  I  heard  a  loud  knock  at  my  door  about 
two  in  the  morning,  and,  on  attending  to  it,  I  found  a 
young  woman,  who  told  me  that  her  father,  this  same 
butcher,  was  dying  and  wished  to  see  me  immediately. 
In  a  few  minutes  I  was  at  his  bedside.  He  apologized 
for  his  previous  rudeness,  adding  that  I  was  the  only 
one  who  ever  seemed  to  care  for  his  soul.  I  addressed 
him  earnestly,  and  he  listened  keenly.  He  died  a  few 
hours  after.  The  news  of  this  incident  spread  over  the 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — ARBROATH  59 

whole  district,  and  I  never  afterwards  had  a  refusal  of  a 
visit. 

In  Arbroath  we  had  a  constellation  of  active  young 
ministers,  all  of  whom  rose  to  eminence.  There  was 
William  Stevenson,  who  preached  the  truth  in  a  bright 
but  somewhat  artificial  style,  and  who  became  a  professor 
in  the  theological  department  of  Edinburgh  University. 
There  was  Eobert  Lee,  born  in  Berwick  on  Tweed,  of 
whom  it  was  as  difficult  to  determine  whether  he  was 
an  Episcopalian  or  Presbyterian,  as  to  settle  whether  his 
birthplace  was  in  Scotland  or  England,  who  was  as  sharp 
and  quick  as  a  wagtail,  and  who  sought,  in  a  theological 
chair  in  Edinburgh,  to  form  the  character  of  young  men 
after  the  fashion  of  Episcopacy.  There  was  James  Lums- 
den,  who  preached  a  Calvinistic  creed  in  the  language  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  who  became  principal  of  the  Free 
Church  College,  Aberdeen,  and  who  defended,  as  a  preacher, 
the  doctrines  of  the  Westminster  Assembly.  There  was 
John  Laird,  who  preached  the  gospel  simply  and  warmly, 
who  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  common  people,  and 
who  was  asked  by  a  large  body  of  the  servant-girls  to 
perform  the  ceremony  when  they  were  married.  There 
was  another,  as  bright  as  any  of  them,  who  fell  into  vice, 
and  I  will  not  name  him. 

Thomas  Guthrie  was  at  that  time  minister  of  the  quiet 
country  parish  of  Arbirlot,  which  lay  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Arbroath.  He  was  sprung  from  a  highly  repu- 
table and  religious  family,  inhabiting  the  neighboring  city 
of  Brechin.  We  soon  became  intimate,  but  on  one  point 
we  had  no  sympathy  with  each  other,  —  he  had  no  fond- 
ness for  abstract  thought,  and  he  hated  metaphysics.  But 
he  was  very  genial.  We  agreed  on  all  great  public  ques- 


60  JAMES  MCCOSH 

tions,  both  of  religion  and  politics,  and  we  acted  together 
in  all  church  matters.  He  lived  two  miles  and  a  half 
out  of  town ;  he  always  called  on  me  when  in  town,  and 
I  spent  the  happiest  hours  of  my  Arbroath  life  in  walk- 
ing out,  when  I  was  wearied  with  my  parochial  work, 
and  spending  a  time  with  him  and  his  family.  He  had 
a  great  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  of  mankind,  and 
I  consulted  him  on  all  great  occasions.  Indeed,  he  and 
Dr.  McLeod  were  the  shrewdest  men  I  ever  knew  in 
foreseeing  the  probable  issue  of  complicated  circum- 
stances. He  was  ready,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  to 
put  himself  to  any  amount  of  trouble  to  forward  my 
advancement.  He  helped  me  more  than  any  other  to 
obtain  positions  of  usefulness,  and  he  continued  to  be  the 
best  friend  I  ever  had  beyond  my  own  family. 

It  was  said  of  Burke,  that  he  could  not  meet  a  common 
man  for  a  few  minutes  under  a  shed  without  the  man 
feeling  interested  in  him.  This  language  might  be  used 
of  Thomas  Guthrie.  He  had  a  pleasant  word  for  every 
one,  that  is,  he  said  something  which  would  gratify  the 
man  he  addressed.  He  was  particularly  fond  of  talking 
to  farmers  and  their  servants,  males  and  females.  The 
consequence  was  that  he  became  a  great  favorite  in  his 
parish.  It  is  a  noteworthy  circumstance  that  he  was 
five  years  a  probationer  without  receiving  a  call.  At  that 
time  he  preached  as  others  preached,  and  did  not  preach 
better  than  others;  but  when  he  became  minister  of 
Arbirlot  he  let  out  all  his  heart  and  genius,  and  followed 
a  course  of  his  own.  He  arranged  to  give  a  discourse, 
written  and  committed,  in  the  forenoon,  and  to  have  a 
meeting  with  the  young  people  in  the  afternoon  ;  in  the 
afternoon  he  was  to  catechise  the  young  on  the  sermon 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  — ARBROATH  61 

of  the  morning.  He  told  me  that  he  was  never  so 
humbled  as  when  he  found  he  could  get  little  or  nothing 
of  his  discourse  from  his  country  boys  and  girls.  He 
felt  that  he  was  laboring  in  vain.  From  that  date  he 
changed  his  manner  of  preaching,  and  his  mode  of  ad- 
dressing meetings,  allowing  free  space  for  his  whole 
nature,  knowledge,  and  experience  to  flow  out.  He  made 
shrewd,  practical  remarks,  told  anecdotes  of  what  he  had 
seen  and  heard,  and  used  illustrations  from  common  life 
and  scenes  in  which  the  people  were  interested.  Now 
every  eye  was  fixed  upon  him  as  he  preached,  and  in  the 
afternoon  he  could  get  all  his  discourse  back  from  his 
ploughmen  and  servant-girls.  There  was  an  immediate 
change  in  the  feeling  of  the  whole  parish,  and  nearly  every 
one,  old  as  well  as  young,  attended  the  afternoon  as  well 
as  the  forenoon  service.  He  preached  in  the  same  way 
when  he  went  to  other  places.  He  was  not  known  as 
yet  in  the  great  cities.  But,  in  the  country  places  around, 
whenever  he  preached  crowds  gathered  to  have  their 
hearts  warmed. 

I  remember  as  fresh  as  yesterday  the  first  time  I  heard 
him.  It  was  at  a  week-night  missionary  meeting,  held 
at  Barry,  among  an  intelligent,  old-fashioned,  country 
people.  He  was  appointed  to  be  the  last  speaker,  as 
nobody  would  leave  the  meeting  till  they  heard  him. 
He  commenced  with  a  plain  statement,  but  he  soon  told 
a  rich  anecdote  of  a  contest  among  the  "  shearers  "  or 
reapers  who  were  cutting  the  grain,  which  had  occurred 
over  the  Voluntary  Controversy,  at  that  time  raging 
throughout  the  whole  country.  The  story  was  so  funny 
that  the  people  began  to  laugh,  and,  as  he  continued,  the 
laughing  on  the  part  of  the  entire  audience  became  so 


62  JAMES  MCCOSH 

oppressive  that  an  old  man  of  seventy  drew  himself  up, 
holding  his  sides,  and  with  some  difficulty  got  out  the 
request,  "  Please,  Maister  Guthrie,  stap  (stop),  we  can 
stand  this  nae  langer."  The  speaker  at  once  changed  his 
tune,  and  described  a  shipwreck  which  had  happened  on 
their  coast.  The  young  women  began  to  hide  their 
tears,  and  at  last  the  whole  audience  bowed  their  heads 
like  bulrushes,  with  the  tears  flowing  from  their  eyes. 
The  sufficiently  conceited  student  who  recites  this,  who 
had  lately  left  Edinburgh  University,  said  to  himself,  I 
am  left  far  behind.  Here  a  new  man  has  appeared,  a 
new  fire,  which  will  burn  over  the  land. 

At  this  moment  I  see  him  before  me  in  the  pulpit.  He 
was  tall,  six  feet  two,  bony  and  somewhat  gaunt.  His 
voice  was  loud  but  mellow ;  he  could  modulate  it  well, 
and  at  times  it  became  low  and  pathetic.  His  preach- 
ing was  distinguished  by  two  very  marked  features,  —  he 
showed  amazing  sense,  and  great  masses  of  practical 
wisdom  came  out.  People  did  not  say,  but  they  felt 
"  that  man  knows  what  is  what ;  he  knows  what  is  in  my 
heart ;  he  speaks  to  my  experience,  to  what  I  have  passed 
through  ;  he  knows  my  labors  and  my  troubles,  and  I 
feel  that  I  can  trust  him  and  take  him  as  my  adviser." 
He  was  not  a  very  deep  expounder  of  Scripture,  but  in 
plain,  graphic  words  he  could  make  the  Bible  incidents 
stand  before  you,  and  make  you  acquainted  with  the 
men  and  women  who  then  lived.  As  he  brought  the 
scenes  before  a  promiscuous  audience,  perhaps  he  called 
forth  deeper  feeling  than  any  preacher  of  his  day.  I 
remember  sitting  far  back  in  an  unobserved  place  in  a 
church  in  Arbroath,  and  how  my  attention  was  called 
to  a  working  man  and  his  wife  sitting  beside  me.  I 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBRO ATH  6  3 

watched  their  actions.  The  wife  at  first  did  not  think 
her  husband  sufficiently  attentive,  and  when  the  preacher 
was  giving  some  good  advice  she  nudged  him.  After 
a  while  the  remark  came  from  him,  "  I  am  sure  that 's 
true."  The  eyes  of  both  were  now  gazing  upon  the 
speaker.  By  and  by  the  tears  were  flowing  from  her 
eyes  without  her  noticing  it.  The  husband  was  deter- 
mined on  being  manly  and  on  not  yielding  to  such 
womanly  feeling ;  but  I  observed  that  he  too  had  to 
form  an  awfully  strong  resolution  to  keep  himself  from 
bursting  into  tears.  As  this  laboring  man  felt,  so  also 
felt  the  nobleman,  so  also  felt  the  University  scholar,  in 
listening  to  him. 

While  thus  immersed  in  my  pastoral  labors  the  follow- 
ing letter  came  to  me  very  unexpectedly : 

June  20,  1837. 

As  Clerk  of  the  Kirksession  of  Old  Grey  Friars,  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  of  a  Committee  of  that  Congregation,  I  have  been 
requested  that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  preach  in  that 
Church  on  Sabbath  next,  the  25th  inst.,  in  the  forenoon,  with 
the  view  of  filling  up  the  present  vacancy  in  that  Church. 

I.   O.   MACK. 

I  felt  this  to  be  an  honorable  proposal.  I  had  evidence 
that  I  owed  it  to  Mr.  Alexander  M.  Dunlop,  the  eminent 
church  lawyer  of  Edinburgh.  He  had  heard  of  me  as  a 
student,  especially  from  Dr.  Welsh.  He  was  seeking  with 
others  to  elevate  the  style  and  tone  of  preaching  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  in  other  words,  to  set  aside  moderatism  and  revive 
evangelism.  The  session  was  particularly  anxious  to  have 
a  popular,  evangelical  minister  to  succeed  Dr.  Inglis,  the 


64  JAMES  MCCOSH 

leader  of  the  Moderate  party,  who  had  preached  to  a 
small  congregation  in  Old  Grey  Friars. 

Here,  I  may  remark,  that  I  look  on  Alexander  Dunlop 
as  one  of  the  noblest  of  the  men  whom  the  Disruption 
struggle  brought  into  prominence.  I  never  knew  a  man 
of  more  sensitive  honor  or  higher  moral  trust.  He  was 
the  main  guide  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  law  before 
the  Disruption,  and  for  years  after.  Seeking  no  remu- 
neration, or  temporal  honor,  or  aggrandizement  of  any 
kind,  he  insisted  on  keeping  the  Church  consistent  to  its 
principles,  and  carefully  avoiding  everything  mean. 

I  took  the  whole  subject  of  the  invitation  to  Edinburgh 
into  serious  and  prayerful  consideration.  I  knew  that  a 
serious  responsibility  lay  upon  me,  whether  I  accepted 
or  declined:  I  knew  that  the  Church  had  come  to  a 
crisis,  I  saw  that  there  was  a  great  field  of  usefulness 
opened  to  me  in  Edinburgh,  provided  I  was  fit  for  the 
charge;  but  I  was  aware  of  my  own  deficiencies.  I 
knew  that  I  was  not  an  orator.  I  respectfully  but  firmly 
declined.  Now,  in  my  advanced  years,  as  I  review  the 
whole  event,  I  see  that  I  did  right  in  the  decision  I  came 
to.  I  am  sure  that  my  style  of  preaching  would  not 
have  kept  up  a  congregation  for  a  lifetime  in  Edinburgh. 

In  the  same  letter  in  which  I  declined,  I  strongly  re- 
commended the  Eev.  Thomas  Guthrie  for  the  office, 
stating  to  the  council  that  he  would  greatly  interest 
and  attract  the  people,  and  would  fill  the  church  imme- 
diately. In  my  letter  I  said  that  Mr.  Guthrie  could 
move  the  people  as  Daniel  O'Connell  did,  but  told  them 
that  they  would  not  find  in  him  the  polished  speaker 
they  had  usually  sought  in  Edinburgh.  This  language 
frightened  some  members  of  the  council,  for  Daniel 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  ARBRO ATH  6  5 

O'Connell  was  at  that  time  a  great  bugbear  in  Scotland, 
and  I  had  to  write  an  explanation  which  satisfied  them. 
Mr.  Guthrie  was  asked  to  preach,  as  I  had  been,  but  at 
once  declined.  In  fact  Mr.  Dunlop  had  great  difficulty 
in  dealing  with  Mr.  Guthrie,  who  was  not  willing  to  be 
regarded  as  a  candidate,  or  disposed  to  leave  his  people. 
He  wrote  peremptorily,  asking  his  name  to  be  withdrawn. 

It  was  agreed  to  send  down  a  committee  to  hear  him 
preach.  I  gave  a  hint  of  this  to  him.  He  wrote  to  me, 
"  I  have  a  plan  in  my  head  as  to  fleeing  not  the  country 
but  the  parish  on  Sabbath  first."  I  arrested  this  by  telling 
him  that  this  would  be  as  bad  as  Jonah's  deed,  in  fleeing 
when  called  to  work  in  Nineveh  that  great  city.  The 
deputation  heard  him  preach  in  his  own  church  and  then 
in  the  evening  in  Arbroath,  where  he  happened  to  offici- 
ate, and  strongly  recommended  that  he  should  be  called. 
He  wrote  me,  "  If  I  am  elected  I  will  go,  and  I  go  just 
because  I  would  then  feel  it  to  be  a  call  of  Providence 
and  duty,  but  if  it  has  been  the  Divine  will,  it  will  give 
me  greater  pleasure  to  know  that  the  election  has  fallen 
on  another."  In  spite  of  these  remonstrances  he  was 
elected,  and  he  felt  at  once  that  he  had  to  leave  his  quiet 
sphere  which  he  so  loved,  and  to  engage  in  a  great  work 
in  the  metropolis  of  his  country.  He  said  to  me,  "I 
will  give  it  a  fair  trial,  and  if  I  do  not  draw  the  people 
in  Edinburgh,  I  will  go  down  to  some  country  parish." 

When  he  was  elected,  a  number  of  his  co-presbyters, 
among  whom  he  was  a  favorite,  gathered  around  him 
and  said :  "  Mr.  Guthrie,  you  must  change  your  style  of 
preaching  when  you  have  to  appear  before  an  audience  so 
polished  as  that  in  Edinburgh."  When  I  heard  this  I 
implored  him  not  to  alter  his  mode  of  speaking,  assuring 

5 


66  JAMES  MCCOSH 

him  that  human  nature  is  much  the  same  everywhere, 
and  that  what  had  moved  the  people  of  Arbirlot  and 
Arbroath,  would  also  move  the  people  of  Edinburgh. 

When  he  delivered  his  first  sermon,  many  turned  out 
to  hear  the  unknown  man  from  the  country,  who  had 
never  preached  in  Edinburgh  before.  He  gained  the 
people  at  once.  Next  Sabbath,  and  every  Sabbath  down 
to  his  retirement,  so  many  people  gathered  that  they  did 
not  know  how  to  get  them  seated. 


CHAPTER  VI 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. SECOND  PASTORATE  AND  DIS- 
RUPTION  OF   THE   ESTABLISHED   CHURCH 

1839-1851 

LLY  conscious  of  his  own  ability,  young  Mr.  McCosh 
was  nevertheless  his  own  severest  critic.  It  was 
a  deed  of  great  courage,  an  act  of  tremendous  self- 
denial,  for  a  country  minister  in  a  subordinate  position, 
ambitious,  vigorous,  and  confident,  to  refuse  the  tempting 
possibility  held  out  to  him  by  the  authorities  of  Grey 
Friars'  Church.  In  estimating  his  position  before  and 
during  the  disruption  of  the  Scotch  Kirk,  it  has  been 
remarked  with  some  degree  of  astonishment  that  he  never 
held  a  commanding  position  either  in  the  universities  or 
in  the  ecclesiastical  life  of  Scotland.  The  incidents  nar- 
rated in  the  last  chapter,  taken  along  with  another  to 
be  told  in  connection  with  a  call  to  an  important 
Scotch  professorship,  which  several  years  later  he  vir- 
tually dismissed  before  it  was  made,  are  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  the  position  he  did  hold  was  altogether  of 
his  own  choosing,  and  not  determined  by  lack  of  appre- 
ciation or  of  opportunity.  In  1838,  the  year  after  he  had 
been  invited  to  present  himself  as  a  candidate  in  the  pul- 
pit of  Grey  Friars,  he  received  and  accepted  the  crown 
appointment  as  minister  in  the  Established  Church  at 
Brechin,  a  small  but  busy  city  of  Forfarshire,  at  no  great 
distance  from  Arbroath.  This  he  owed  to  the  watchful 


68  JAMES  MCCOSH 

solicitude  of  his  former  teacher,  Dr.  Welsh.  Of  his  labors 
in  the  Brechin  charge,  which  began  in  1839,  he  has  left  an 
interesting  sketch.  His  colleague  in  the  pastorate  was 
the  Eev.  A.  L.  E.  Foote,  a  man  of  sound  sense  and  excellent 
parts :  — 

I  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  Brechin  in  Forfar- 
shire,  as  I  first  saw  it  when  I  passed  on  horseback  over 
Burghill,  on  the  south  side,  and  came  in  view  of  the  val- 
ley of  the  river  Southesk,  immediately  below  and  before 
me.  On  the  slope  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  I  saw 
the  gray  old  town  with  its  two  prominent  towers  :  the  one, 
the  cathedral  tower  built  in  the  twelfth  century  by  King 
David  I.,  "  the  sair  saint  for  the  crown,"  so  called  because 
he  erected  so  many  ecclesiastical  buildings ;  the  other  and 
older,  the  Eound  Tower,  built  by  Irish  workmen  about  the 
year  one  thousand  of  our  era,  as  I  showed  in  co-operation 
with  Mr.  Black,  the  town  clerk.  Behind  and  beyond,  a 
few  miles  on  the  north  side,  were  the  huge  Grampian 
Mountains,  forming  a  grand  background.  On  the  left 
side,  were  Brechin  Castle  (a  somewhat  plain  building), 
and  its  rich  domains ;  and  on  the  right  side,  at  the  base 
of  the  Grampians,  sweeping  towards  the  east,  the  rich 
plain  called  the  Howe  [or  Hollow]  of  the  Mearns.  It  was 
destined  that  in  this  city  I  should  spend  several  of  the 
most  active  and  enterprising  years  of  my  life. 

Brechin,  with  its  5,000  or  6,000  inhabitants,  might  be 
regarded  as  a  fit  representative  of  the  smaller  Scotch 
towns.  In  it  were  a  flax  mill,  a  bleachfield,  several  man- 
ufactories of  linen,  a  distillery  of  whiskey,  several  banks, 
and  ordinary  shops  or  stores.  As  an  upper  class,  were 
ministers,  lawyers,  and  teachers,  then  shopkeepers,  mechan- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHIC AL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION       69 

ics,  dressmakers,  servants  and  day-laborers.  The  great  body 
of  the  inhabitants  were  hand-loom  weavers,  earning  only 
eight  or  nine  shillings  a  week,  but  carefully  rearing  their 
families.  There  were  too  many  public-houses  in  the  town 
and  though  the  greater  body  of  the  people  were  sober,  drink- 
ing was  resorted  to  on  all  social  occasions,  and  a  number 
became  victims  of  intemperance. 

The  parish  was  well  provided  with  the  means  of  grace. 
There  was  the  Cathedral  Church,  with  its  two  endowed 
ministers,  and  a  Chapel  of  Ease,  which  had  been  made  a 
parish  church  quoad  sacra.  There  was  an  Episcopal 
Church,  attended  by  the  country  gentry  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  by  the  descendants  of  the  families  that  had  stood 
by  "  Prince  Charlie."  There  was  an  original  "  Secession 
Church,"  which  clung  resolutely  to  the  principles  of  the 
Old  Scotch  Church,  and  vehemently  opposed  Patronage 
and  all  other  evils.  There  were  also  two  other  "  Seces- 
sion Churches,"  and  a  "  Relief  Church,"  shortly  afterwards 
united  in  one  denomination,  all  of  which  belonged  to 
bodies  which  had  been  out  of  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  were  now  opposed  to  the  union  of  Church 
and  state  under  every  form.  This  may  seem  rather  too 
large  a  number  of  denominations  to  be  in  one  small  town. 
The  ministers  of  different  denominations  had  little  com- 
munication with  each  other,  but  they  had  no  quarrels. 

Keen  and  extreme  dissenters  received  me  gladly.  I 
explained  to  the  dissenting  families  that  I  did  not  mean 
to  interfere  with  their  attendance  at  their  own  places  of 
worship.  I  devoted  one  day  a  week  to  the  work  of  general 
visiting ;  I  devoted  another  day  to  visiting  specially  the 
sick,  the  infirm  and  aged.  This  was  the  method  of  the 
Established  Church,  and  it  was  a  powerful  means  of 


70  JAMES  MCCOSH 

gaining  the  whole  parish.  Other  days  I  wrote  ;  and,  in 
the  early  stages  of  my  ministry,  on  the  evenings  of 
these  days,  I  spent  time  occasionally  at  social  parties; 
but  far  more  frequently  I  spent  my  leisure  in  read- 
ing extensively,  and  often  to  a  late  hour,  in  litera- 
ture and  in  my  favorite  subject  of  philosophy.  In 
the  winter  I  paid  special  attention  to  the  families  in 
the  town  district.  Having  announced  on  the  previous 
Sabbath  the  locality  in  which  I  meant  to  visit,  say,  Cadger 
Hillock,  I  found  all  the  people  waiting  for  me,  except 
those  engaged  in  the  factories,  who  had  to  take  their  places 
in  the  works.  I  took  down  the  names  of  all  in  each 
household,  inquired  whether  the  young  were  attending  a 
day  school  and  a  Sabbath  class.  I  spoke  briefly  to  them, 
putting  a  few  questions,  and  commonly  joining  in  prayer. 
I  appointed  a  meeting  in  the  evening  at  eight  o'clock,  never 
in  a  rich  man's  house,  commonly  where  there  was  an  aged 
or  a  bed-rid  person.  We  had  usually  the  whole  people 
of  the  district  attending.  I  gave  an  address  on  some 
practical  subject.  The  whole  exercise  lasted  one  hour. 
In  this  way  I  got  acquainted  with  the  young  and  the  old, 
and  prompted  children  to  join  our  Sabbath  classes,  and 
those  a  little  further  advanced  in  life  to  join  my  class  for 
the  young  above  fifteen  years  of  age. 

I  visited  the  country  district  in  the  summer.  After 
an  early  dinner,  I  started  on  horseback  (I  always  kept  a 
good  stout  horse),  and  put  up  at  a  selected  farm-house, 
where  the  horse  was  sure  to  get  a  feed  of  corn.  I  visited 
all  the  afternoon  in  the  district,  and  paid  special  atten- 
tion to  the  young  and  the  infirm.  At  five  or  six  o'clock 
I  was  sure  to  have  a  grand  tea  provided  at  the  place  at 
which  I  had  left  my  horse.  At  half-past  six  the  whole 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION       71 

people  assembled,  and  I  spoke  to  them,  often  having  an 
attendance  of  seventy  or  eighty.  I  rode  home  at  night, 
feeling  that  I  had  spent  a  profitable  day,  and  praying  for 
a  blessing  on  what  had  been  done.  When  I  got  home, 
I  often  carried  my  reading  far  into  the  night.  Take, 
as  illustrating  this,  my  visit  to  Barrelwell,  a  large  farm- 
house, once  a  year.  After  breakfast  I  rode  out  to  the 
farm-house.  I  spoke  a  few  words  privately  to  the 
master  and  mistress.  I  then  went  among  the  servants, 
and  spent  a  few  hours  in  making  myself  acquainted  and 
conversing  with  them,  especially  speaking  to  fathers, 
mothers,  and  children.  In  the  .afternoon,  all  the  people 
on  the  farm  met  in  the  farm-house.  I  catechised  them 
in  a  simple  way  on  the  Shorter  Catechism,  or  on  some 
portion  of  Scripture  made  known  beforehand.  After- 
wards I  addressed  the  whole  people,  who  might  have 
amounted  to  sixty  or  seventy. 

In  this  way  I  got  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
people,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young.  I  encouraged  them 
to  open  their  minds  and  hearts  to  me,  especially  their 
troubles,  personal  and  household,  taking  care  never  to 
repeat  what  was  said  to  me,  and  checking  scandal  of 
every  kind.  I  tried  to  make  the  people  feel  that  they 
had  a  trusty  friend  in  me.  I  felt  the  deepest  interest 
in  talking  to  the  people,  and  often  got  much  knowledge 
from  them  of  human  character. 

The  parochial  system  of  Scotland  was  a  most  powerful 
means  of  sustaining  and  diffusing  religion  in  the  country. 
There  is  unfortunately  nothing  like  it  in  America.  There 
should  be  some  substitute  devised.  When  the  disrup- 
tion of  the  Church  of  Scotland  came,  this  method  had  to 
be  given  up,  and  I  cannot  tell  how  much  I  regretted  it. 


72  JAMES  MCCOSH 

The  congregational  system  cannot  possibly  serve  all  the 
purposes  of  the  parochial ;  it  leaves  gaps  which  are  not 
filled  up.  It  would  be  desirable  to  secure,  among  the 
numerous  denominations  in  America,  a  modified  system, 
a  Federation  of  Churches,  under  which  the  minister 
would  be  responsible  for  every  family  in  a  certain 
district,  though  having  no  power  of  excluding  any  other 
form  of  Christianity  from  entering  it.  It  is  only  thus 
that  according  to  our  Lord's  command  the  gospel  can  be 
preached  to  every  creature. 

In  these  visitations,  ludicrous  incidents  occurred  on 
various  occasions.  In  the  parish,  we  had  two  wealthy 
women  who  kept  a  pawn-shop  and  lodged  vagrants.  I 
did  not  know  very  well  how  to  reach  them.  It  occurred 
to  me  that  I  should  take  a  bold  course,  and  ask  them  to 
open  their  house  for  an  evening  meeting.  They  felt 
pleased  beyond  measure,  and  spent  most  of  the  day  in 
inviting  their  neighbors  to  attend.  The  people  con- 
sidered my  choice  of  a  house  as  very  queer,  but  came  out 
in  great  numbers.  On  that  evening  they  had  for  lodgers 
a  travelling  company  with  an  enormous  monkey.  When 
I  began  to  address  the  people,  the  monkey  came  out  from 
a  side  room  and  took  his  place  on  a  table  exactly  oppo- 
site me,  whether  of  purpose  on  the  part  of  its  owners 
to  play  me  a  trick  I  could  not  find  out.  To  every  motion 
of  mine,  whether  moving  my  head  or  lifting  my  hands 
or  stamping  my  feet,  the  monkey  made  a  corresponding 
motion,  all  with  a  face  of  deepest  gravity.  What  was  to 
be  done  ?  I  could  not  keep  a  respectful  attention  on  the 
part  of  the  people.  The  scene  was  inexpressibly  ludi- 
crous. No  one  had  the  courage  to  interfere.  Attempts 
were  made  to  suppress  the  laughter,  which  were  not 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION       73 

successful.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  people  thought 
I  was  well  served  for  selecting  such  a  house.  The 
thought  occurred  to  me  to  make  a  vehement  jerk  to  one 
side.  The  monkey,  in  copying  me,  fell  on  the  floor,  and 
was  carried  off  in  disgrace  by  his  owner.  I  was  deeply 
moved  myself,  and  in  my  address  I  awed  the  whole 
people.  I  left  orders  there,  and  in  all  similar  places, 
when  I  visited  them,  that  if  any  beggars  or  vagrants 
became  ill  I  was  to  be  immediately  sent  for.  I  was  occa- 
sionally called  for,  and  had  always  eager  listeners,  at 
times  on  the  part  of  some  who  had  seen  better  days,  and 
who  drank  in  the  truth  which  they  had  learned  in  their 
younger  years. 

My  heart  ever  warms  when  I  think  of  Brechin.  Here 
I  had  the  privilege  of  preaching  the  gospel  from  week 
to  week  to  large  congregations,  and  training  thousands 
of  young  people  in  religion.  Here  I  was  pleasantly 
acquainted  with  nearly  every  one,  and  had  not  a  few 
personal  friends.  Here  my  children  were  born.  Here 
I  buried  a  dear  boy.  The  greatest  gift  which  I  got  was 
my  dear  and  excellent  wife.  She  was  the  daughter  (the 
second)  of  Alexander  Guthrie,  an  eminent  physician  known 
all  over  the  country,  and  a  brother  of  the  Eev.  Thomas 
Guthrie.  She  has  proved  to  be  a  most  loving  wife  to 
me,  and  has  constantly  watched  over  me  and  my  inter- 
ests. She  was  an  admirable  household  manager,  and 
enabled  me  to  live  handsomely  at  times  on  a  small 
income.  She  had  a  good  deal  of  the  Guthrie  character. 
She  was  characteristically  firm,  and  did  not  always  yield 
to  me.  She  advised  and  assisted  in  all  my  work  as 
minister  and  professor.  She  visited  sick  students  and 
looked  after  their  welfare.  A  hospital  costing  thirty 


74  JAMES  MCCOSH 

thousand  dollars  has  been  erected  in  Princeton  College, 
bearing  down  her  name  to  future  generations. 

During  the  years  I  spent  at  Brechin  I  had  to  come 
through  a  great  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  therefore  of  Scotland  generally,  which  was 
so  identified  with  its  Church.  A  great  question  came 
to  a  head  at  this  time,  and  I  threw  myself  into  it,  heart 
and  soul.  There  were  really  two  connected  questions 
involved.  The  one  was  the  spiritual  independence  of 
the  Church.  We  believed  that  a  church  enslaved  by 
the  state  could  not  fulfil  the  high  ends  contemplated  by 
Christ  in  setting  up  his  Kingdom.  We  believed  that  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  established  by  law,  greatly  needed 
reformation.  I  entered  and  continued  in  it,  believing 
that  we  could  reform  it.  The  other  question  was  the 
right  of  the  members  of  the  church  to  have  power  in 
the  election  of  their  pastors.  It  was  in  this  last  ques- 
tion that  I  took  the  deepest  interest. 

As  to  the  first  question,  I  was  deeply  convinced  that 
in  order  to  accomplish  the  great  moral  and  spiritual  pur- 
poses for  which  it  was  instituted,  the  Church  must  be 
free,  and  not  under  Patrons  and  politicians.  But  some- 
how I  had  always  a  suspicion  that  a  church  fully  en- 
dowed might  be  tempted  into  ecclesiastical  tyranny, 
which  could  only  be  counteracted  by  control  being  given 
to  the  membership.  I  was  of  opinion  that  the  Christian 
Church  should  at  this  crisis  have  demanded  the  abolition 
of  Patronage  out  and  out,  and  argued  that  it  would  be 
carried  by  the  wave  of  popular  rights  which  had  given 
us  the  Reform  Bill.  The  great  body  of  the  Church  was 
not  prepared  to  go  this  length.  A  large  number  of  the 
ministers  had  little  faith  in  popular  elections,  and  were 


AUTOBIOGRAPHIC AL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION       75 

rather  favorable  to  a  continuance  of  Patronage  if  it  could 
be  properly  restrained.  The  proposed  remedy,  favored 
by  Chalmers  and  Lord  Moncreiff,  was  to  give  the  congre- 
gations a  power  of  vetoing  any  obnoxious  presentee. 

The  great  body  of  the  church  leaders  being  sure  that  an 
anti-patronage  law  would  not  be  enacted  by  Parliament, 
this  compromise  measure  was  passed  by  the  Church.  We 
acted  on  it  from  1834  to  1843;  and  good  was  done,  as  the 
Patrons  felt  that  they  had  to  inquire  carefully  into  the 
character  of  the  persons  they  appointed.  Meanwhile,  cases 
occurred  in  which  congregations  vetoed  the  presentee,  as 
in  Strathbogie,  and  in  which  presbyteries  refusing  to 
settle  with  the  ministers,  the  affair  was  carried  up  to  the 
law  courts.  The  Court  of  Session,  by  a  majority  of  eight 
to  five,  decided  that  the  Church  was  acting  illegally,  the 
minority  of  five  containing  some  of  the  ablest  judges  on 
the  bench,  such  as  Lord  Glenlee  and  Lord  Jeffrey.  The 
whole  question  came  finally  before  the  House  of  Lords, 
which  virtually  decided  that  the  veto  law  was  illegal. 
It  now  became  clear  that  we  had  to  separate  from  the 
Established  Church.  A  convocation  of  non-intrusion 
ministers  was  held  with  closed  doors  in  Edinburgh.  I 
was  for  continuing  the  fight,  but  the  meeting  unanimously 
resolved,  more  wisely,  to  make  a  final  appeal  to  the  na- 
tional legislature.  As  again  it  declined  to  relieve  us,  we 
had  no  course  left  us  but  to  retire.  I  made  a  motion  in 
the  presbytery,  which  virtually  separated  us  from  the 
church  established  by  law.  It  was  agreed  between  Dr. 
Foote  and  myself  that  he  should  go  up  to  the  General 
Assembly  to  take  part  in  the  formal  separation,  and  that 
I  should  remain  over  the  Sabbath  in  Brechin,  to  watch 
over  the  movements  of  the  congregation.  I  went  up  to 


76  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Edinburgh  on  Monday,  and  signed  the  protest,  joining 
with  between  four  hundred  and  five  hundred  ministers 
in  organizing  the  Free  Church.  This  disruption  was  a 
great  event  in  the  history  of  Scotland.  I  certainly  regard 
it  as  the  greatest  event  in  my  life. 

I  passed  through  the  crisis  with  very  solemn  feelings 
and  with  very  deep  convictions.  On  the  first  Sunday 
after,  I  spoke  from  the  text,  "  But  many  of  the  priests 
and  Levites  and  chief  of  the  fathers  who  were  ancient 
men,  that  had  seen  the  first  house,  when  the  foundation 
of  this  house  was  laid  before  their  eyes,  wept  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  many  shouted  aloud  for  joy ;  so  that  the 
people  could  not  discern  the  noise  of  the  shout  of  joy 
from  the  noise  of  the  weeping  of  the  people,  for  the 
people  shouted  with  a  loud  shout,  and  the  noise  was 
heard  afar  off."  I  spoke  of  what  we  had  lost  by  our 
giving  up  our  connection  with  the  state,  but  showed 
definitely  that  we  could  not  have  retained  our  emolu- 
ments in  consistency  with  our  principles,  which  we  could 
never  abandon.  I  dwelt  fully  on  what  we  had  secured 
in  the  full  liberty  which  we  now  enjoyed,  spoke  encour- 
agingly and  hopefully  to  the  people,  and  exhorted  them 
to  go  forward  in  the  great  work  allotted  to  them. 

In  the  parish  church  we  had  upwards  of  fourteen 
hundred  members.  Of  these,  over  eight  hundred  joined 
the  Free  Church  movement,  while  about  six  hundred 
remained  in  the  Established  Church.  I  was  disap- 
pointed, I  confess,  that  more  did  not  go  with  us.  I 
felt  keenly  my  separation  from  some  who  had  been 
under  my  ministerial  care,  but  who  remained  behind. 
The  great  body  of  those  who  were  regarded  by  us  as 
pious,  of  those  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  advancement 


i  I 

and  purity  of  the  Church,  went  with  us.  All  along  there 
was  a  number  of  farmers  and  tradesmen  satisfied  with 
the  state  of  the  Church,  and  not  willing  to  be  burdened 
with  the  payment  of  a  minister's  stipend;  these  stuck 
closely  to  the  state-endowed  Church.  There  were  a  few 
who  worshipped  with  us  for  some  weeks,  and  then  left 
us,  including  Alexander  Mitchel,  who  afterwards  rose  to 
be  a  professor  and  a  leading  divine  in  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland.  Those  who  adhered  to  us  formed 
a  happy  union,  and  went  on  hopefully,  subscribing  liber- 
ally to  our  funds,  and  working  steadily  in  our  cause. 
On  one  occasion  the  collectors  of  our  funds  passed  the 
door  of  a  poor  woman  without  calling  on  her,  because 
she  was  so  poor.  She  came  out  in  an  excited  state,  ask- 
ing if  they  deemed  her  unworthy  of  the  Lord's  work, 
and  insisted  upon  giving  her  mite. 

There  were  painful  scenes,  husbands  taking  one  side 
and  wives  another ;  young  men  and  maidens  going  with 
us,  while  their  parents  remained  behind.  In  some  cases, 
fathers  threatened  to  disinherit  their  children  if  they 
went  with  us.  A  young  woman  told  me  that  her  father 
said  that  he  would  give  her  nothing  but  bread  and  water 
to  feed  on  until  she  returned  to  the  old  Church.  I  be- 
lieve that  in  all  these  cases  the  threatened  parties  con- 
tinued firm,  and  in  most  cases  the  hearts  of  those  who 
threatened  them  relented. 

I  kept  up  my  courage,  and  acted  as  manfully  as  I 
might.  At  times  I  had  fears,  but  I  carefully  suppressed 
them,  and  they  were  immediately  lost  sight  of  in  the 
midst  of  prevailing  hopes  which  carried  me  on.  Being 
accustomed  to  receive  state  aid,  I  had  not  so  much  faith 
in  the  willingness  of  the  members  to  maintain  their  min- 


78  JAMES  MCCOSH 

isters  as  I  afterwards  had.  I  did  not  know,  when  I  left 
the  parish  church,  where  I  should  have  to  go.  I  knew 
that  I  could  never  have  so  large  and  influential  a  congre- 
gation as  I  had  had  in  the  past.  One  of  my  difficulties 
arose  from  the  circumstance  that  in  the  diminished  con- 
gregation two  ministers  would  not  be  required,  and  either 
Mr.  Eoote  or  I  would  have  to  retire.  While  I  felt  such 
trials  as  these,  I  did  not  feel  it  to  be  a  trial  to  give  up 
my  large  stipend,  although  I  did  realize  at  times  that  I 
had  to  suffer  a  degradation  of  social  position.  I  can 
claim  that  in  my  state  of  greatest  weakness  and  depres- 
sion I  never  thought  for  one  instant  of  abandoning  our 
principles,  —  as  we  expressed  it,  of  going  back  into 
Egypt. 

Meanwhile,  the  church  buildings  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterians and  of  the  Old  Light  Seceders  were  generously 
thrown  open  to  us,  and  we  preached  in  them.  We  pro- 
ceeded vigorously  with  the  erection  of  a  new  church,  in 
which  the  congregation  was  comfortably  housed.  The 
minister  of  the  other  Free  Church  in  town  was  often  laid 
aside  by  frequent  attacks  of  a  serious  malady.  The  con- 
gregation called  me  to  be  his  colleague,  and  I  accepted.  I 
continued  to  minister  in  that  church  from  1844  to  1850, 
when  I  was  called  to  a  Chair  of  Logic  and  Metaphysics 
in  Queen's  College,  Belfast.  I  accepted  because  I  had 
long  had  a  taste  for  philosophy,  and  because  I  hoped  to 
advance  a  sound  philosophy. 

The  question  is  often  put  to  us,  "  If  you  had  foreseen 
the  issue  as  it  turned  out,  would  you  have  started  or 
joined  the  movement  which  led  to  your  giving  up  your 
livings,  and  dividing  the  church  members  ? "  I  think  I 
can  answer  this  question  with  truth  and  candor  for  my- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.— THE  DISRUPTION       79 

self  and  the  company  that  went  out.  We  were  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  and  importance  of  the  old  principles 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland;  we  believed  them  to  be 
founded  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  were  sure  that  we 
ought  to.  act  in  accordance  with  them.  We  saw  that 

O 

great  evils  rose  and  reigned  in  the  Church  when  it 
departed  from  them  in  the  eighteenth  century,  especially 
in  the  greatly  lower  tone  of  religious  life  and  activity, 
and  the  prevalence  of  intemperance  and  various  forms  of 
immorality.  Where  cases  arose  in  which  the  Church  was 
required  to  settle  ministers  obnoxious  to  the  people,  we 
felt  that  we  could  not  yield  without  violating  our  princi- 
ples. I  acknowledge  that  as  we  were  doing  all  this  we 
claimed  to  be  the  true  Church  of  Scotland,  and  fondly 
believed  that  we  would  continue  in  our  connection  with 
the  state.  I  confess  that  we  did  not  foresee  what  was 
coming.  We  were  led  by  a  way  which  we  did  not  know, 
which,  in  fact,  we  could  not  ourselves  have  chosen.  We 
followed  implicitly  the  light  vouchsafed.  Forty  of  those 
who  had  hitherto  gone  on  with  us,  drew  back  when  the 
crisis  came,  but  the  great  body  of  us  went  on  courageously 
and  resolutely.  There  was  no  one  point  in  the  way  at 
which  we  could  honorably  turn  back.  At  every  step  we 
took,  we  saw  clearly  that  there  was  no  other  honest 
course  open  to  us.  And  now,  in  reviewing  the  path 
followed  by  us,  we  bless  God  because  he  has  enabled  us 
to  take  it.  We  are  sure  that  we  have  been  led  in  "  the 
right  way." 

The  immediate  result  of  our  movement  has  not  been 
so  great  as  I  expected.  The  example  set  by  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  has  not  been  followed  by  other 
Churches,  as  I  anticipated ;  but  the  leaven  is  working. 


80  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Progress  has  so  far  been  hindered  by  the  unwarranted 
and  heretical  expressions  of  certain  Free  Church  minis- 
ters; but  an  example  has  been  set  to  which  all  state 
established  churches  will  have  to  look.  Were  the 
example  followed  in  Germany,  and  the  choice  of  pastors 
given  to  the  church  members,  we  should  be  kept  from 
those  heresies  which  are  at  present  coming  in  from  that 
country. 

The  efforts  we  had  to  make  in  defending  our  princi- 
ples of  church  freedom  were  very  great.  A  number  of 
us  had  to  go,  during  the  fight,  to  preach  at  Strathbogie. 
The  presbytery  there  had  inducted  a  minister  against 
the  will  of  the  people.  The  Church  had,  in  consequence, 
to  deal  with  those  who  obeyed  the  civil  courts,  and  it  de- 
clared that  they  could  no  longer  be  regarded  as  ministers 
of  their  parishes.  Certain  parishes  were  considered  as 
vacant,  and  we  had  to  supply  their  pulpits.  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  go  for  a  time  to  officiate  in  these  parishes. 
I  knew  all  the  while  that  I  was  liable  to  severe  penalties 
in  doing  so.  We  were  pleased  to  see  the  great  body  of 
the  parishioners  standing  resolutely  by  church  freedom. 
The  deputies  had  large  and  very  interested  audiences, 
and  came  back  quickened  in  their  zeal  for  non-intrusion. 

I  was  appointed  one  of  a  deputation  to  visit  England, 
and  make  known  the  claims  of  non-intrusion.  We  went 
first  to  York,  where  the  Cathedral  has  an  overpowering 
influence,  and  thence  to  the  fine  old  Puritan  district  of 
Northamptonshire  and  Bedfordshire,  including  Olney, 
the  home  of  the  poet  Cowper.  The  Church  of  England 
avoided  us :  few  of  her  clergy  or  laity  attended  our 
meetings,  they  seemed  to  feel  that  our  movement  did 
not  favor  their  prospects,  some  of  their  clergymen  spoke 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION        81 

against  us  from  their  pulpits.  The  Methodists  showed 
us  the  very  greatest  kindness,  opening  their  churches  to 
us.  They  felt  that  they  had  often  been  in  much  the 
same  predicament  as  we  were.  The  Baptists  were  dis- 
posed to  be  friendly,  but  we  did  not  always  get  on  with 
them  without  friction. 

I  did  not  find  the  dissenting  ministers  of  England  so 
well  educated  as  the  Presbyterian  ministers  in  Scotland, 
who  are  required  to  be  eight  sessions  at  college  before 
entering  their  office;  but  the  Congregationalists  have 
often  men  of  great  natural  gifts.  They  complained  much 
of  the  superciliousness  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  towards 
them.  They  favored  our  movement  because  it  seemed 
to  hasten  on  the  disestablishment  of  the  English  Church. 
Their  speakers  at  times  expressed  this  strongly.  This 
we  felt  to  be  awkward,  as  we  were  at  that  time  in  favor 
of  an  established  church  if  we  could  have  it  in  our  own 
way,  that  is,  free  from  state  control.  I  had  frequent 
and  anxious  conferences  with  the  Congregational  minis- 
ters as  to  church  polity. 

I  observed  that  a  number  of  their  younger  ministers 
were  acquiring  an  excessive  admiration  of  Thomas 
Carlyle,  who  was  becoming  the  popular  favorite.  I  have 
never  copied  him,  but  I  have  always  maintained  that 
more  than  any  other  author  for  two  centuries  he  added 
to  the  strength  and  directness  of  the  English  tongue. 
Some  of  our  young  preachers  made  themselves  ridicu- 
lous by  imitating  him,  and  speaking  dogmatically  with- 
out having  the  weight  of  Carlyle's  sentiments. 

I  noticed  that  in  the  social  circles  of  non-conformist 
ministers  following  Eobert  Hall,  there  was  an  immense 
amount  of  smoking ;  this  I  was  led  to  observe  because 


82  JAMES  MCCOSH 

scarcely   any  minister  in  Scotland  dared  to  indulge  in 
the  practice  at  that  time. 

Among  Dr.  McCosh's  papers  were  found  letters  to 
him  from  Chalmers,  Cunningham,  and  Guthrie,  which 
show  that  he  was  a  trusted  member  of  the  inner  circle 
which  carried  the  Free  Church  movement  to  a  successful 
conclusion.  From  these  letters  the  editor  has  selected 
one  of  Guthrie's,  which  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
temper  of  those  fearless  champions  of  ecclesiastical 
liberty.  It  is  as  follows:  — 

EDINBURGH,  21  October,  1842. 

Mr  DEAR  SIB  :  .  .  .  We  have  had  a  very  long  meeting  to- 
day, and  saw  more  daylight  on  the  subject  of  the  convocation 
than  I  had  yet  seen.  There  is  no  difference  among  us  here 
as  to  principles,  as  to  our  resolute  determination  at  all 
hazards  and  risks  to  maintain  our  ground,  and  set  at  naught 
and  treat  as  waste  paper  the  hostile  invasions  and  deci- 
sions of  the  civil  courts.  But  there  has  been  and  is  con- 
siderable difference  of  opinion  what  besides  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  Church  to  do  since  the  late  Auchterarder  decision. 
Some  of  us  entertain  very  decided  opinions  about  the  unlaw- 
fulness of  the  Church  continuing  in  connection  with  a  state 
which  insists  on  Erastian  conditions,  and  draws  the  sound 
of  persecution  against  the  reclaiming  Church.  Our  idea  of 
the  Church's  duty  is  this,  that  on  many  accounts  she  should 
not  rashly  proceed  to  dissolve  the  connection,  but  should  go 
to  the  government  of  the  land,  explain  how  the  terms  in 
which  she  was  united  with  the  state  have  been  altered  to 
all  practical  purposes  by  the  late  decisions,  how  the  compact 
has  been  therein  violated,  how  she  cannot  continue  to  admin- 
ister the  affairs  of  the  Establishment  unless  she  is  to  be  free 
from  invasion,  and  protected  against  persecution,  and  that, 


AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  THE  DISRUPTION       83 

therefore,  unless  the  government  and  legislature  shall 
within  a  given  and  specified  time  redress  the  wrongs  we 
complain  of,  we  shall  dissolve  the  Union,  declare  it  to  bo 
at  an  end,  and  leave  all  the  sins  and  consequences  at  the 
door  of  an  Erastian  and  oppressive  state.  There  is  some 
hope  in  this  way.  Were  such  a  determination  signed  and 
sealed  by  each  man  for  himself,  say  some  hundred  ministers, 
the  government  would  be  compelled  to  interfere  and  grant 
redress  of  wrongs,  rather  than  run  all  the  risks  to  the  civil 
and  religious  institutions  of  this  country  which  a  refusal 
might  bring  with  it. 

There  are  others  here,  such  as  Brown  and  Elder  and  Begg, 
who  are  not  prepared  to  take  this  step,  —  their  idea  is  to 
remain  in  the  establishment  till  driven  out,  doing  all  the  duties 
that  belong  to  them.  Well,  our  manifest  duty  under  the 
idea  of  remaining  is  to  purify  the  Church  of  Erastianism, 
and  preserve  it  from  it,  —  so  they  agree  that  at  this  convo- 
cation the  ministers  should  resolve  to  admit  no  Erastian  into 
the  Church,  to  license  no  Erastian  student,  to  translate  no 
Erastian,  and  to  thrust  out  of  the  Church  without  any  mercy 
every  man  and  mother's  son  that  avails  himself  of  their 
Erastian  decisions,  acknowledges  these  as  binding  the 
Church,  or  would  in  any  way  apply  them  in  the  face  of  our 
own  laws. 

We  who  would  dissolve  after  due  warning  can  have  no 
conscientious  objection  to  continue  for  a  time  doing  this 
work  of  excision.  At  the  convocation  we  may  agree  on 
that  ground,  but  we  still  think  our  own  plan  the  best  of  the 
two,  —  it  may  secure  a  free  and  open  establishment.  The 
other  plan  must  inevitably  and  certainly  though  slowly  lead 
to  the  casting  out  of  our  party ;  it  can  in  no  case  gain  the 
object  we  ma}*  gain,  —  a  pure  establishment.  We  must  cast 
out  of  the  Church  by  this  second  proposal  all  that  preach  for 
or  in  any  way  by  open  acts  countenance  the  deposed  [minis- 


84  JAMES  MCCOSH 

ters]  of  Strathbogie.  We  must  cast  out  of  the  Church  the 
Moderate  majority  of  the  late  synod  of  Aberdeen,  and  in  less 
than  two  years  we  have  all  the  Moderates  declared  to  be  no 
longer  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  They  [then] 
constitute  themselves  into  law  presbyteries,  depose  our  clergy 
within  their  bounds,  declare  their  parishes  vacant,  ordain 
ministers  of  their  own  on  the  presentation  of  heritors,  and 
then  claim  the  stipends ;  they  are  given  them.  So,  without 
the  gleam  of  a  bayonet,  the  ring  of  a  musket  or  the  appear- 
ance even  of  a  law  functionary,  we  are  most  quietly  deposed 
and  put  down.  This  plan  —  and  if  we  are  to  remain  in  the 
Church  for  any  time  we  are  bound  to  take  it  —  this  you  see 
cuts  us  down  in  detail,  disposes  of  us  most  quietly  and 
peacefully  for  our  opponents.  B}T  this  plan  we  are  most 
sure  to  be  stripped  in  less  than  half-a-dozen  years  of  our 
temporalities,  and  then  we  produce  no  effect  on  the  land,  on 
the  government,  on  Christendom,  or  on  an  ungodty  world 
by  bearing  the  noblest  testimony  ever  borne  for  the  truth. 
I  believe  the  bold  course  would  save  the  Church, — under 
God,  I  mean,  —  and  if  it  did  not,  men  could  not  say  we 
died  struggling  for  a  stipend.  If  it  did  not,  the  history  of 
it  would  fill  the  brightest  page  in  church  history.  It  would 
do  more  to  recommend  religion  as  a  vital,  eternal  principle 
than  all  the  sermons  we  will  ever  preach. 

I  pray  you,  turn  over  this  subject  in  your  mind,  and  talk 
of  it  with  your  friends,  and  let  us  pray  that  the  Lord  would 
bring  us  all  to  one  opinion  and  that  is  sure  to  be  right. 

Unless  the  last  and  lowest  step  is  taken,  some  of  us  can- 
not remain  in  the  degraded  and  dishonored  Church.  I 
would  feel  it  to  be  committing  fornication  with  the  kings  of 
the  earth.  In  haste 

Yours  Ever  Truly, 

THOMAS  GUTHRIE. 


CHAPTER  VH 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  MEN    AND    SCENES     OF    THE 
DISRUPTION 

1843 

'"T*VHE  reader  of  the  preceding  pages  must  have  re- 
•*•  marked  that  the  pre-eminent  characteristic  of 
James  McCosh  was  earnestness.  Whatsoever  his  hand 
found  to  do,  he  did  with  all  the  might  of  a  vigorous 
frame,  a  powerful  will,  and  a  strenuous  soul.  As  a 
student,  his  labors  were  incessant;  the  time-honored 
curriculum  being  too  narrow  for  his  comprehensive  mind, 
his  lectures  were  richly  supplemented  by  his  wide  read- 
ing, and  his  Christian  zeal  was  quickened  by  regular 
missionary  work  among  the  outcast.  As  a  hard-working 
country  parson,  ordering  his  pastoral  work  on  the  best 
models,  exhorting  his  people  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
braving  all  weathers  on  his  faithful  horse  to  visit  the 
sick  and  dying,  shirking  neither  poverty,  dirt,  nor  disease 
in  the  cure  of  souls,  he  nevertheless,  by  the  systematic 
use  of  every  hour,  found  time  for  society,  study,  and 
contemplation.  Wisely  shunning  the  distractions  of  life 
in  a  great  capital  during  his  formative  years,  his  intellect 
ripened  as  his  experience  widened. 

It  was  his  fortune  to  live  when  great  moral  questions 
stirred  Scotland  to  her  deepest  depths  and  it  was  sig- 
nificant of  great  strength  that  amid  all  the  attendant  tur- 
moil and  discussion  of  a  national  movement  he  yet  found 
time  to  continue  the  philosophical  studies  which  had 


86  JAMES  MCCOSH 

been  his  chief  pursuit  as  a  student.  In  these  com- 
bined occupations  was  developed  the  metaphysical  sys- 
tem which  dominated  his  mind  to  the  end,  a  system 
which  asseverated  the  worthlessness  of  all  speculation 
unrelated  to  reality,  and  found  its  most  important  prob- 
lems in  the  sphere  of  general  experience.  As  will  be 
seen  in  the  event,  it  was  amid  the  throes  of  the  disrup- 
tion movement  that  the  scheme  of  his  first  important 
philosophical  work  took  final  form,  although  he  had 
dimly  foreshadowed  it  while  yet  in  Edinburgh. 

The  Church  of  Scotland  long  maintained  that  in  her 
spiritual  affairs,  namely,  discipline,  worship,  and  admin- 
istration, she  had,  through  her  assemblies,  supreme 
authority.  This  claim  she  had  been  able  to  assert  with 
various  degrees  of  success,  almost  completely  from  1560 
to  1606,  and  again  from  1638  to  1653,  when  Cromwell 
suspended  the  assemblies  for  political  reasons.  After 
the  period  of  war  and  confusion  attendant  upon  the 
Restoration  and  Revolution,  she  asserted  these  rights 
once  more,  and  hi  1690  regained  them  to  a  considerable 
extent ;  but  in  1712  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne  restored 
the  system  of  lay  Patronage,  by  which  the  state,  through 
its  agents,  virtually  appointed  the  parish  clergy,  and  in- 
ducted them  into  their  respective  charges.  For  seventy 
years  and  more  the  succeeding  assemblies  strove  for 
redress  of  this  grievance,  but  in  vain.  Finally,  however, 
toward  the  close  of  the  century,  the  majority  of  the 
clergy,  that  is,  the  "  Moderates,"  became  indifferent  to 
what  the  few  ardent  and  historical  minds  stigmatized  by 
the  erroneous  term  of  Erastianism,  by  which  they  meant 
the  arrangement  between  Church  and  state  established  in 
the  east  Roman  empire,  whereby  the  jurisdiction  of  the 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  87 

former  in  spiritual  matters  is  made  subordinate  to  the 
secular  authority.  In  consequence,  therefore,  it  was  for  a 
time  only  the  remnant  of  Scotch  Presbyterians  which 
maintained  more  or  less  completely  the  primitive  and  his- 
toric doctrine  of  ecclesiastical  supremacy  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  or,  as  they  designated  it,  the  Headship  of  Christ. 
Many  of  these  dissenters  felt  the  bondage  of  state  control 
to  be  so  intolerable  that  they  seceded  from  the  estab- 
lishment, and  formed  various  voluntary  sects,  which 
remained  distinct  from  each  other,  either  for  minor 
doctrinal  or  for  social  reasons,  the  most  persistent  and 
logically  consistent  of  them  all,  the  Covenanters,  being 
composed  for  the  most  part  of  very  humble  folk,  who 
felt  they  could  exercise  more  influence  by  witnessing  in 
complete  aloofness  for  the  purity  of  the  faith  as  set  forth 
by  Knox  and  Melville,  than  in  any  other  way.  Although 
these  seceding  bodies  were  in  the  aggregate  very  respect- 
able in  point  of  numbers,  and  very  influential  in  point 
of  intelligence,  yet,  nevertheless,  by  far  the  largest  por- 
tion of  the  Scotch  people  continued  in  the  Established 
Church  down  to  the  date  of  the  Brechin  pastorate,  which 
was  described  in  the  last  chapter.  But  as  early  as  1830, 
when  the  evangelical  movement  began  to  be  strong 
within  the  Church,  agitation  on  the  question  of  lay 
Patronage  began  again,  and  in  1834  the  "  Moderates  "  had 
so  far  lost  power  that  the  assembly  passed  an  act  declar- 
ing that  no  pastor  should  be  intruded  upon  a  congrega- 
tion against  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  by  a 
majority  of  the  heads  of  families  in  the  parish.  In  1838 
the  attempt  was  made  at  Auchterarder  to  disregard  this 
rule ;  the  case  was  carried  to  the  civil  courts,  and  was 
decided  adversely  to  the  Act  of  1834.  An  appeal  was 


88  JAMES  MCCOSH 

taken  to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  that  body,  in  1839,  sus- 
tained the  decision  of  the  lower  court.  Meantime,  in 
1838  the  assembly  reasserted  the  position  of  1834,  set- 
ting it  forth  more  fully  and  vigorously  than  at  first,  and 
certain  parishes,  like  that  of  Strathbogie,  defied  the  law. 
In  1842  the  assembly,  having  carefully  noted  the  ex- 
treme public  agitation,  sent  up  a  protest  to  the  govern- 
ment, complaining  of  state  interference  in  ecclesiastical 
matters,  and  asking  for  the  abolition  of  lay  Patronage. 
Early  in  1843  their  agent  was  informed  that  the  govern- 
ment would  not  grant  redress,  and  in  March  a  final 
appeal  was  made,  this  time  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
It  was  rejected  by  a  large  majority,  and  on  May  18  of 
the  same  year,  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  assembly,  the 
non-intrusion  members  to  the  number  of  two  hundred 
declared  their  hopelessness  of  obtaining  redress,  and  their 
intention  to  withdraw.  On  Tuesday  the  23rd,  an  Act  of 
Separation  was  signed  by  three  hundred  and  ninety-six 
ministers  and  other  ecclesiastical  officials,  and  the  number 
rose  by  rapid  stages  to  four  hundred  and  seventy-four. 
These  devoted  and  fearless  men  thus  resigned  their 
places,  and  with  them  their  incomes  as  far  as  paid  by 
the  state,  a  sum  amounting  to  upwards  of  half  a  million 
dollars.  To  his  share  in  these  eventful  proceedings,  Dr. 
McCosh  has  already  referred  in  his  autobiographical 
notes.  In  what  follows  he  describes  the  scenes  in  those 
districts  where  he  labored,  and  displays  without  inten- 
tion the  gain  to  his  own  character  which  he  secured  by 
participating  in  them :  — 

I  am  not  to  give  a  general  account  of  the  disruption 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  such  as  we  have  in  Hanna's 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  89 

"  Life  of  Chalmers,"  in  Buchanan's  "  Ten  Years  Conflict," 
and  in  the  "  Life  of  Dr.  Guthrie,"  by  his  sons  David  and 
Charles.  I  am  simply  to  give  a  picture  of  the  scenes 
through  which  I  had  to  pass  in  a  country  district.  But 
as  I  would  do  so,  the  constellation  of  able  and  excellent 
men  who  led  us  stands  conspicuously  before  me,  and  I 
must  call  attention  to  them. 

Most  conspicuous  among  them  is  Thomas  Chalmers, 
the  grand  orator,  unsurpassed  in  his  day  in  Scotland,  the 
disinterested  philanthropist,  and,  I  am  inclined  to  add, 
the  broad-minded  philosopher.  Since  Knox,  who  was 
the  greatest  statesman  among  the  reformers,  no  man  has 
exercised  so  powerful  an  influence  upon  the  religious 
opinions  of  his  countrymen  as  Chalmers.  There  is  the 
massive  logical  theologian  of  the  Calvin  type,  William 
Cunningham,  setting  forth  religious  doctrine  in  powerful 
and  definite  terms,  and  assailing  error  as  with  a  battering- 
ram.  There  is  the  subtle  practical  leader,  Kobert  Smith 
Candlish,  with  more  of  what  George  Buchanan  calls  the 
perfervidum  ingenium  Scotorum  (he  had  both  the  perfer- 
vidum  and  ingenium)  than  any  man  I  ever  knew.  These 
were  the  three  mighty  men  in  the  host.  There  is  the 
gentlemanly,  the  graceful  and  politic  Kobert  Buchanan, 
who  guided  the  Church  through  its  difficulties  in  a  states- 
manlike manner.  Taller  by  a  head's  length  than  the 
others,  there  is  Thomas  Guthrie,  the  pictorial  preacher, 
who  every  five  minutes  made  his  audience  burst  with 
laughter,  or  melt  in  tears ;  who  showed  at  the  same  time 
amazing  common-sense  and  deep  knowledge  of  human 
nature.  There  is  the  tribune  of  the  people,  James 
Begg,  ready,  in  clear  and  ringing  language,  to  defend  the 
principles  of  the  ancient  Church  of  Scotland.  It  is  won- 


90  JAMES  MCCOSH 

derful  that  these  men,  so  different  in  their  temperament, 
should  have  so  agreed  in  holding  the  same  principles, 
and  in  conducting  the  great  movement. 

There  were  equally  devoted  men  among  the  eldership 
and  among  the  laity.  I  cannot  name  them  all.  Two 
are  conspicuous.  There  is  Alexander  Dunlop,  the  man 
of  the  keenest  sense  of  honor  I  ever  knew,  who  in  the 
days  of  his  flesh  fought  a  duel,  and  in  the  days  of  his 
reformation  as  legal  adviser  of  the  Free  Church  kept  her 
on  the  straightforward,  consistent,  and  honorable  course. 
There  is  the  stone  mason,  Hugh  Miller,  the  man  of 
genius  among  us,  who,  without  a  teacher,  had  trained 
himself  to  high  science,  and  to  expound  it  in  perfect 
English,  who  maintained  throughout  the  noblest  inde- 
pendence, and  who  devoted  his  mature  life  to  the  defence 
of  the  Free  Church,  which  he  conducted  so  effectively  in 
able  articles  in  his  paper,  the  "  Witness,"  as  to  constrain 
all  men  to  respect  her.  The  aristocracy  and  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  soil  as  a  whole  were  hostile  or  looked  askance, 
but  there  were  a  few,  such  as  Fox  Maule  (afterwards  Earl 
of  Dalhousie),  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  Makgill- 
Crichton,  and  Hogg  of  Kirkliston,  who  resisted  all  the 
prejudices  of  birth  and  rank,  and  supported  those  who 
were  fighting  the  battle. 

All  over  Scotland  there  was  intense  eagerness,  but,  after 
all,  of  a  quiet  description.  Sometimes,  but  very  rarely, 
the  feeling  was  excessive.  It  was  so,  for  instance,  on  one 
occasion  when  at  a  public  meeting  in  my  church  the 
orator  was  graphically  describing  the  forced  intrusion  of 
unfit  ministers  into  a  parish.  A  man,  standing  upwards 
of  six  feet,  rose  in  the  church,  and  cried,  "  Let  us  rise," 
but  he  met  with  no  response.  Still,  there  was  deep  feel- 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  91 

ing.  Servants  were  afraid  of  losing  the  favor  of  their 
masters  or  mistresses,  farmers  were  afraid  of  being  cast 
out  of  their  farms  by  their  landlords ;  yet  deeper  than 
these  was  a  strong  resolution  to  hold  by  principle.  For 
myself,  I  was  quietly  but  deeply  moved  as  I  walked 
about  among  the  parishes. 

The  Grampian  Mountains,  running  from  northeast  to 
southwest,  cut  Scotland  in  two.  The  Eomans  could 
never  cross  that  range ;  they  were  driven  back  at  the 
battle  of  the  Grampians  spoken  of  by  Tacitus.  In  my 
parish  there  were  the  remains  of  a  Roman  camp,  which 
gradually  disappeared  in  the  progress  of  agriculture,  the 
stones  being  used  to  build  houses  and  fences.  The  place 
might  as  well  be  the  scene  of  the  great  battle  as  dozens 
of  others  which  have  claimed  it.  The  region  which  could 
not  be  conquered  by  the  arms  of  the  Romans  was  gained 
by  the  followers  of  the  Cross,  who  planted  churches  in  its 
wildest  fastnesses. 

The  road  from  the  lowlands  led  up  a  very  pleasant 
valley,  through  which  flows  a  clear  and  lively  stream,  the 
river  North  Esk.  At  the  top  there  is  a  lake,  sheltered  by 
rugged  mountains,  and  a  waterfall ;  and  the  parish  is  called 
Lochlee.  The  slopes  of  the  glen  are  covered  with  heather, 
rising  out  of  which  are  rocks  and  graceful  groups  of 
birches.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  sheep  farmers  and 
their  shepherds,  with  their  sheep  and  dogs.  They  are  a 
hardy  race,  with  a  spirit  of  independence.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ant place  for  privileged  sportsmen,  who  shoot  grouse  and 
deer  on  the  upper  heights,  for  tourists  and  summer  so- 
journers,  who,  however,  cannot  easily  find  accommodations, 
as  the  landlord  does  not  wish  the  game  to  be  disturbed. 
Often  have  I  ridden  or  walked  up  and  down  that  valley 


92  JAMES  MCCOSH 

to  get  refreshing  when  I  was  weary,  but  more  frequently 
to  preach  to  the  people,  or  address  them  on  the  freedom 
of  the  Church.  The  whole  land  belonged  to  Lord  Pan- 
mure,  who  never  went  to  any  church,  and  was  resolutely 
opposed  to  the  whole  Free  Church  movement. 

The  sphere  of  superintendence  allotted  to  me  by  the 
General  Assembly  lay  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Grampians 
at  their  eastern  end,  and  in  the  wide  and  rich  country 
lying  below  on  the  south,  including  the  fertile  "  Howe  o' 
the  Mearns."  It  was  a  part  of  my  office  to  see  that  the 
people  who  adhered  to  the  Free  Church  should  form  a 
congregation,  and  have  churches  built  for  them.  The 
people  had  for  years  been  favorable  to  the  principle  of  the 
Church's  freedom,  being  instructed  by  their  former  minis- 
ter, the  Eev.  Eobert  Inglis,  and  led  by  his  brother,  Mr. 
David  Inglis,  a  very  courageous  and  resolute  farmer. 
The  Rev.  Eobert  and  I  often  went  up  the  glen  to  preach 
and  speak  to  the  people. 

In  order  to  explain  and  defend  our  cause,  a  meeting 
of  the  parishioners  was  called  for  a  certain  day  in  a 
Masonic  Lodge,  where  it  was  supposed  that  the  landlord 
could  not  touch  them.  I  was  invited  to  go  up  and  address 
the  people.  Alongside  of  me  as  I  rode  was  the  agent 
of  Lord  Panmure,  who  went  up  to  awe  the  tenantry 
and  their  dependents.  Often  did  we  pass  and  repass 
each  other,  I  on  horseback,  and  the  factor  in  his  carriage. 
The  people  were  evidently  very  anxious  when  they  saw 
the  factor,  and  left  the  speaking  mainly  to  me ;  but  they 
kept  firm  and  determined,  and  passed  resolutions  in  favor 
of  spiritual  independence  and  non-intrusion.  One  of  the 
most  trying  circumstances  in  the  whole  contest  was  that 
Lord  Panmure's  factor  was  the  uncle  of  the  two  brothers 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  93 

Inglis.  The  people  kept  their  position,  and  made  no 
disturbance  of  any  kind,  but  were  in  constant  fear  of  being 
driven  out  of  their  farms. 

After  the  disruption,  there  was  a  great  difficulty  in 
finding  a  place  in  which  to  worship;  but  Mr.  David 
Inglis  built  an  additional  room  to  his  shepherd's  house, 
believing  that  the  landlord  could  not  interfere.  I  remem- 
ber preaching  there  to  nearly  the  whole  parishioners,  who 
were  much  moved  by  the  scene.  The  position  was  main- 
tained till  the  death  of  Lord  Panmure,  when  his  son,  the 
Honorable  Fox  Maule,  one  of  the  fast  friends  of  the  Free 
Church,  erected  a  very  handsome  church  where  there 
meets  every  Lord's  Day  a  considerable  congregation. 

With  this  glimpse  at  the  movement  in  the  heart  of  the 
Grampians  let  us  next  pass  along  at  their  foot. 

Menmuir  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Grampians,  five  miles 
northwest  of  Brechin.  One  market  day  I  was  walking 
along  the  streets  of  our  city,  when  a  decent  man,  a  shoe- 
maker, came  up  to  me,  and,  lifting  his  hat,  addressed  me, 
"  I  hear  of  your  doing  good  elsewhere ;  why  do  you  not 
visit  our  place  ? "  I  asked  him  where  he  lived,  and  he 
told  me,  "  Tiggerton,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Menmuir." 
He  assured  me  that  there  was  a  desire  among  a  number 
of  people,  and  especially  on  the  part  of  his  wife,  to  have 
the  gospel  preached  to  them,  which  they  felt  was  not 
done  in  the  parish  church.  I  told  them  I  was  willing  to 
go  out  next  Sabbath  evening,  and  asked  whether  there 
was  any  house  in  which  I  could  speak.  He  replied  that 
he  knew  of  none.  "  Notwithstanding,"  I  said,  "  you  may 
expect  me."  After  preaching  twice  at  home,  I  drove  out 
in  a  carriage  which  a  lady  lent  me.  I  found  fifty  or 
more  people  assembled  on  the  roadside.  I  took  the  horse 


94  JAMES  MCCOSH 

out  of  the  carriage,  and  used  the  vehicle  as  a  pulpit.  I 
was  in  earnest  and  the  people  were  in  earnest.  I  believe 
the  man  who  asked  me  to  go  out  was  converted  that 
night,  and  all  the  people  were  deeply  impressed  by  the 
scene.  I  announced  that  I  would  be  with  them  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath  evening.  I  found  them  assembled  in  the 
heart  of  the  village,  on  an  artificial  mound,  which,  in  ages 
past,  had  been  the  mote  or  judgment  seat  of  the  baron 
who  had  the  power  of  "pot  and  gallows;"  that  is,  of  cast- 
ing the  supposed  criminal  into  a  pool  and  drowning  him, 
or  of  hanging  him  on  a  tree.  I  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
mound  and  preached  to  the  people  above  me. 

When  I  was  about  to  commence  the  service,  a  fine- 
looking  young  man  came  up  to  me,  his  voice  almost 
choking  him,  saying  that  he  was  forester  to  the  Laird  of 
Balnamoon  (the  proprietor  of  the  land),  who  had  bid 
him  tell  me  that  if  I  did  any  ill  I  would  have  to  answer 
for  it.  I  told  him  that  he  had  done  his  duty  to  his 
earthly  master  in  a  modest  and  becoming  manner,  and 
I  invited  him  to  stay  and  see  if  I  did  any  ill,  and  to 
listen  to  any  message  his  heavenly  Master  might  have 
to  give  him.  I  never  saw  a  man  more  relieved  when  I 
spoke  to  him  in  this  way,  and  he  declared  firmly  and 
joyfully,  "I  am  a  Free  Church  man,  and  will  worship 
with  you  whatever  my  master  may  do."  On  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath  a  village  carpenter,  William  Christie,  threw 
open  his  shop  to  us,  and  I  preached  from  time  to  time  in 
it.  He  and  his  daughters,  who  were  very  accomplished 
women,  persevered.  Meanwhile  the  carpenter  was  an- 
noyed by  the  local  factor  of  the  Earl  of  Fife,  who  was 
the  proprietor  of  the  ground,  and  was  told  that  he  might 
lose  his  shop  next  year.  It  ended  in  the  daughters  going 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  95 

up  to  London,  where  they  had  friends,  and  they  reached 
a  good  social  position. 

Being  in  Edinburgh,  I  thought  it  proper  to  call  on  the 
legal  agent  of  the  Earl  of  Fife.  I  told  him  how  things 
stood.  He  listened  and  said  little,  but  told  me  he  would 
see  me  soon  at  Brechin.  Not  long  after,  this  gentleman 
sent  me  word  from  the  hotel  in  Brechin  that  he  wished 
me  to  go  out  with  him  to  Menmuir.  I  mounted  my 
horse  immediately,  and  rode  alongside  of  him  to  the 
parish.  He  had  with  him  in  the  carriage  the  local  factor 
and  a  surveyor,  a  devoted  Free  Churchman,  who  was  like 
to  burst  with  joy  at  my  success  and  the  humiliation  of 
the  factor.  The  Edinburgh  lawyer  drove  me  to  a  very 
central  spot  in  the  district,  and  bade  the  surveyor  mark 
out  a  few  acres  for  us  and  give  it  to  us  with  a  certain 
privilege  of  cutting  wood  for  the  manse.  We  built  the 
church  and  an  attached  manse.  The  people  called  an 
excellent  minister,  and  there  is  a  fine  congregation  there 
at  this  day. 

Many  years  after,  I  visited  the  place  and  preached  in 
the  church.  I  had  an  enormous  audience.  Some  men 
and  women  had  walked  ten  or  fifteen  miles  to  revive  old 
scenes.  There  were  fathers  who  came  up  to  me  at  the 
close  of  the  service  with  their  sons  and  daughters,  and 
placing  them  before  me,  bade  them  look  carefully  in  my 
face,  and  never  forget  the  man  who  had  guided  them  in 
the  great  movement  which  led  to  the  building  of  that 
church,  to  the  gathering  of  the  congregation,  and  to  the 
good  which  had  been  done. 

The  Laird  of  Balnamoon,  at  the  time  when  I  was 
working  in  the  district,  was  on  the  Continent.  When 
he  came  home  he  inquired  into  the  state  of  things,  and 


96  JAMES  MCCOSH 

showed  that  he  had  no  resentment  by  asking  me  to  dine 
with  him,  which  I  cheerfully  did,  and  became  acquainted 
with  his  estimable  daughters,  the  descendants  of  an  old 
Episcopalian  and  non-juror  family.  During  those  excit- 
ing times,  while  I  spoke  strongly  against  the  enslaving  of 
the  Church,  I  took  care  never  to  say  a  disrespectful  word 
against  a  master  in  the  presence  of  his  servant,  or  of  a 
landlord  on  the  land  of  his  tenants. 

Within  two  or  three  miles  west  of  Menmuir  there  was 
a  case  of  peculiar  hardship.  The  Established  Church 
minister  had  contracted  debt.  His  creditors,  anxious  to 
get  payment  from  his  stipend,  would  not  allow  him  to 
resign.  He  remained  in  his  charge,  fretting  like  a 
chained  dog,  ever  denouncing  the  Established  Church 
and  praising  the  Free  Church.  I  called  on  him,  but  had 
little  to  say  to  soothe  him.  With  his  consent  I  visited 
among  his  people,  and  a  number  of  them  joined  the 
Menmuir  Free  Church.  Busy  man  as  I  was  otherwise,  I 
visited  from  house  to  house  through  all  that  district. 

In  the  parishes  I  have  named  I  had  a  part  in  forming 
the  congregations,  and  in  building  the  churches.  There 
were  other  places  which  I  had  to  visit,  and  for  which  I 
had  to  provide  supplies  of  preachers,  which  was  no  easy 
work.  These  were  Laurencekirk,  Fordoun,  Drumlithy, 
Stonehaven.  I  kept  a  horse,  and  at  times  rode  thirty 
miles,  and  preached  two  or  three  times  in  one  day.  I 
preached  where  I  could  get  a  roof  to  cover  me,  at  times  in 
the  open  air,  once  or  twice  in  a  village  ball-room.  It  was 
very  stimulating  to  ride  along  in  the  consciousness  that  1 
was  promoting  a  good  cause,  through  the  rich  valley  of  the 
Mearns,  with  the  huge  Grampians  above  me,  and  to  meet 
the  farmers  and  shopkeepers,  with  their  servants,  male 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  97 

and  female,  to  advise  with  them  and  encourage  them,  they 
and  not  I  doing  the  principal  work.  I  preached  in  places 
of  which  I  believe  I  may  say  truly  that  the  pure  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  had  never  been  proclaimed  there  before.  In 
the  Middle  Ages  the  truth  had  been  mixed  with  the 
grossest  superstitions.  After  the  reformation,  Episcopacy 
had  set  forth  the  Church  and  church  ordinances  rather 
than  Christ.  When  prelacy  was  driven  out,  the  Presby- 
terian Church  took  the  form  of  moderatism,  the  proper 
product  of  Patronage,  rather  than  evangelism. 

In  no  place  visited  had  I  more  pleasure  than  at  Fordoun, 
where,  as  I  recalled,  the  gospel  had  been  introduced  by 
Saint  Palladius  in  the  fourth  century.  •  When  there  I 
lived  with  Mr.  Burnett,  of  Monboddo,  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood.  He  was  a  grandson  of  Lord  Monboddo, 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  judges  of  the  Court  of  Session, 
and  perhaps  the  most  erudite  Scotch  metaphysician,  next 
to  Hamilton.  The  judge  was  noted  for  his  eccentricities 
both  in  opinion  and  conduct,  declining  to  ride  in  a  car- 
riage when  he  went  to  London,  but  riding  on  horseback, 
dining  after  the  manner  of  the  Komans,  and  so  far  antici- 
pating Darwin  in  holding  that  men  had  originally  tails. 
His  grandson  was  also  distinguished  for  his  ability  and 
his  eccentricity,  but  still  more  for  his  consistent  piety. 
He  guided  the  people  in  the  formation  of  the  congregation 
and  the  erection  of  the  church. 

Fettercairn  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Grampians,  immedi- 
diately  above  the  Howe  o'  the  Mearns.  Though  I  had 
taken  some  part  in  the  disruption  struggle,  yet  it  was 
carried  on  very  much  by  the  people  themselves ;  farmers, 
shopkeepers,  and  others,  all  panting  for  the  reformation  of 
religion.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  Free  Church  to  dispense 

7 


98  JAMES  MCCOSH 

the  sacrament  of  the  supper  on  the  same  Sabbath  as  that 
on  which  it  was  wont  to  be  in  the  parish  church.  Fetter- 
cairn  was  the  first  place  in  which  we  administered  the 
Communion.  Mr.  Inglis  and  I  went  to  the  place  on  a 
Saturday,  where  a  congregation  of  several  hundred  met 
us.  We  could  not  get  a  house  in  which  to  preach  and 
dispense  the  sacrament.  At  last  a  poor  woman,  who  had 
a  small  piece  of  ground  leased  to  her  for  a  year,  said,  "  I 
will  lose  my  field,  but  I  give  it  to  the  Lord."  They  raised 
a  small  awning  over  the  head  of  the  minister,  and  the 
people  stood  or  sat  on  stools  in  the  green  field.  At  the 
close  of  the  service  I  requested  those  who  wished  to  join 
the  church  to  remain  and  give  me  their  names,  and  two 
hundred  and  thirteen  members  did  so ;  this  in  a  district 
not  thickly  populated.  Among  them,  a  fine-looking  young 
man  came  to  me,  wishing  me  to  put  down  his  name, 
adding,  "  I  will  have  to  suffer  for  this  as  you  have  done." 
"  How  will  you  have  to  suffer  ? "  I  asked.  He  replied,  "  I 
am  Sir  John  Gladstone's  head  gardener,  and  he  has  written 
me,  "  You  will  go  to  the  parish  church  next  Sabbath." 
"And  how  have  you  answered?"  I  asked.  He  replied, 
"  Sir  John,  you  have  been  a  kind  master  to  me,  and  what- 
ever happens  I  will  not  forget  your  kindness,  but  this  is  a 
matter  of  conscience  between  me  and  my  God;  next 
Sabbath  I  go  to  the  Free  Church."  He  then  introduced 
to  me  a  remarkably  decent  middle-aged  woman,  saying, 
"  This  is  Sir  John  Gladstone's  housekeeper,  and  she  too 
has  been  ordered  to  go  to  the  parish  church  next  Sabbath." 
I  asked  her  what  she  meant  to  do  and  she  said,  "  I  am 
not  so  good  at  the  pen  as  the  gardener,"  and  she  had 
bidden  him  write  in  his  letter  that  she  was  to  act  as  he 
did. 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  99 

On  the  Sabbath  I  preached  in  the  green  field  to  a 
thoughtful,  deeply-impressed  audience  of  hundreds  of  men, 
women,  and  children  who  never  forgot  the  scene,  as  I 
have  never  forgotten  it.  It  was  a  beautiful  clear  day  in 
June,  —  all  the  Sabbaths,  it  was  remarked,  were  fine  in 
that  disruption  summer  and  autumn,  so  that,  being  as 
yet  without  churches,  we  could  preach,  as  most  of  us 
had  to  do,  in  the  open  air.  Above  me  were  the  lofty 
Grampians ;  before  me  was  an  audience  with  earnestness 
on  their  faces,  such  as  I  never  saw  before  in  any  congre- 
gation. I  forget  what  I  said,  but  I  remember  that  I  never 
addressed  a  congregation  under  such  deep  emotion. 

In  the  course  of  some  weeks  a  gentleman  living  at  a  dis- 
tance said  with  an  oath,  "  I  do  not  care  what  becomes  of 
either  of  the  kirks,  but  if  you  give  me  my  money  I  will 
sell  my  little  property  to  you."  This  we  did,  and  the  people 
proceeded  with  the  building  of  the  church.  When  they 
came  to  lay  the  foundation-stone,  a  large  company,  esti- 
mated at  eight  hundred,  gathered  from  the  district ;  Sir 
John,  the  father  of  W.  E.  Gladstone,  had  meanwhile  come 
from  Liverpool  to  his  country-seat.  When  the  people 
were  assembling,  he  rode  through  and  through  among 
them,  speaking  to  no  one  and  no  one  speaking  to  him. 
Every  man  in  the  meeting  lifted  his  hat  as  he  passed 
him,  and  every  woman  gave  him  her  lowest  courtesy.  He 
went  home  to  his  castle  and  wrote  to  Sir  James  Graham, 
the  Home  Secretary,  who  had  driven  us  out  of  ©ur 
churches :  "  We  have  committed  a  great  mistake.  I  have 
passed  through  the  people  laying  the  foundation  of  their 
free  church.  I  saw  among  them  the  great  body  of  my 
best  servants  and  tenants."  Certain  it  is  that  Sir  James 
Graham,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons,  as  re- 


100  JAMES  MCCOSH 

ported  in  the  "  Times "  newspaper,  said :  "  I  have  com- 
mitted the  blunder  of  my  life  in  allowing  these  people  to 
be  driven  out  of  the  Church  of  Scotland." 

Every  week  or  so  I  rode  up  eleven  miles  to  see  this 
people.  One  day  I  passed  on  the  road  a  scholarly-look- 
ing gentleman,  evidently  not  belonging  to  the  district, 
walking  thoughtfully  along  the  public  road.  At  the  first 
farm-house  I  came  to  I  asked  who  this  gentleman  could 
be.  "  Oh,"  they  said,  "  that  is  Sir  John  Gladstone's 
clever  son."  The  people  of  the  place  had  already  dis- 
covered his  ability.  My  father-in-law,  Dr.  Alexander 
Guthrie,  was  the  consulting  physician  of  the  family,  and 
often  spent  days  at  Fasque  when  there  was  serious 
illness  in  the  family.  He  described  William  Gladstone 
as  spending  a  great  part  of  his  summer  in  reading  Blue 
Books,  and  marking  passages  carefully  to  prepare  for  the 
parliamentary  work  of  the  following  winter.  He  was 
astonished  to  find  Sir  John  explaining  his  business  to  his 
son  William  when  yet  a  boy,  and  seeming  to  take  his 
advice. 

Sir  John,  I  may  remark,  was  reckoned  by  his  contem- 
poraries as  one  of  the  shrewdest  merchants  of  Great 
Britain.  It  was  said  that  when  he  bought  shares  in  a 
company  it  went  up  five  per  cent,  and  that  when  he  sold 
out  it  went  down  ten  per  cent.  The  story  went  that  he 
looked  sharply  after  both  worlds.  He  would  play  at 
cards  till  nine  o'clock  at  night,  when  he  ordered  all  the 
cards  to  be  put  down  on  their  face,  then  summoned  all 
the  servants  to  family  worship,  taking  care  that  no  one 
was  absent.  When  the  worship  was  over  his  company 
took  up  the  cards,  and  finished  the  game. 

One  day,  as  I  was  travelling  along  the  road,  I  stepped 


SCENES  OF  THE  DISRUPTION  101 

into  a  fine  new  Episcopal  Chapel  which  Sir  John  was 
building.  While  there  Sir  John  came  in  with  another 
gentleman.  Being  old  and  deaf  he  was  not  aware  how 
loud  he  was  speaking,  as  I  overheard  him  saying,  "  We 
would  have  gotten  on  very  well  in  this  district  had  it  not 
been  for  a  young  fellow  of  the  name  of  McCosh  who  has 
very  much  troubled  us."  I  had  to  restrain  myself  from 
bursting  into  laughter.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  when 
a  young  man  of  high  character  was  settled  as  minister 
of  the  Free  Church,  Sir  John  within  a  few  weeks  of  his 
ordination  asked  him  to  dinner. 

A  number  of  years  after,  the  Duke  of  Argyll  asked 
me,  being  in  London,  to  dine  with  him  on  a  certain  day, 
saying  he  would  introduce  me  to  Mr.  Gladstone.  Un- 
fortunately, an  emeute  rose  in  the  manufacturing  district 
of  England,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  being  Prime  Minister, 
was  not  able  to  come  to  the  dinner.  Had  he  been 
present,  I  would  have  asked  him  whether  he  remembered 
the  event  at  Fettercairn,  and  whether  it  had  any  influence 
in  leading  him  to  disestablish  the  Irish  Church,  as  he 
saw  how  a  congregation  could  support  its  minister  with- 
out state  aid. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FIRST   EPOCH   OF   A   LIFE-WORK 
1850-1868 

A  MONG  the  other  ambitions  of  James  McCosh  when 
a  student  at  Glasgow  was  that  of  becoming  an 
author.  From  his  memoranda  it  appears  that  already 
there  were  deep  and  undefined  thoughts  in  his  mind 
concerning  the  workings  of  God  in  his  universe,  which 
sought  for  both  definition  and  utterance.  The  idea 
of  writing  a  book  on  that  subject  grew  stronger  and 
stronger,  until  it  became  overmastering,  and  to  himself 
he  often  repeated  the  words  of  Elihu:  "I  will  answer 
also  my  part,  I  'also  will  shew  mine  opinion.  For  I  am 
full  of  matter,  the  spirit  within  me  constraineth  me." 
Toward  the  close  of  his  divinity  studies  in  Edinburgh, 
he  finally  ventured  to  sketch  an  outline  of  the  plan  he 
had  been  evolving,  and  to  read  it  as  a  paper  before  the 
Theological  Society.  His  effort  met  with  prompt  recog- 
nition, and  he  felt  encouraged  to  go  forward.  But  enter- 
ing, soon  afterward,  upon  the  active  life  of  a  pastor, 
he  was  prevented  from  laboring  steadily  on  his  theme, 
first  by  the  composition  of  sermons,  and  then  by  his 
zealous  participation  in  the  disruption  struggle.  These 
occupations,  however,  were  no  hindrance  to  his  intel- 
lectual growth;  on  the  contrary,  they  gave  reality  to 
his  speculations,  and  stamped  his  thought  with  a  con- 


From  a  portrait  painted  in  1847 


CHAPTER  VIH 

FIRST   EPOCH   OP   A   LIFE-WORK 
1850-1868 

A-MONG  ib«  other  ambitions  of  James  McCosh  when 

a,  «*«5.*-.at    ;  ..'•.-.! 


<£tn<tti4a  it  appears  that  already 
in   his  mind 

• 


he  often 

also  my  pit  f:  /  ?.W  v  Hiiiw.  o^  ..-.-»  .  ^      >or  i  am 

full  of  isaik-T,  the  spint  with'  u  !•>?  couatraineth  me." 
Toward  the  close  of  his  divmuy  studies  in  Edinburgh, 
he  finally  ventured  to  sketch  an  outline  of  the  plan  he 
had  been  evolving,  and  to  read  it  as  a  paper  before  the 
Theological  Society.  His  effort  met  with  prompt  recog- 
nition, and  he  felt  encouraged  to  go  forward.  But  enter- 
ing, soon  afterward,  upon  the  active  life  of  a  pastor, 
he  was  prevented  from  laboring  steadily  on  his  theme, 
first  by  the  composition  of  sermons,  and  then  by  his 
zealous  participation  in  the  disruption  struggle. 


occupations,  however,  were  no  hindran.ee  .to 
r^\  w\  ^\wfc\>&wo<\  6 
lectual  growth  ;   on  Msne  contrary,  xhey  gave  reality  to 


his  speculations,  and  stamped  his  thought  with  a  con- 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  103 

creteness  which  it  never  lost.  The  basis  of  his  philo- 
sophic creed  being  the  intuitionism  of  the  Scottish  school, 
experience  modified  it  into  the  forms  of  his  special  philos- 
ophy. Many  discriminating  critics  have  seen  in  the 
heavy  parish  work  of  Green,  during  the  years  he  spent  as 
a  hard-working  rector  in  East  London,  the  preliminary 
training  which  made  him  England's  most  noted  popular 
historian.  Similarly,  McCosh,  by  his  severe  novitiate  as 
a  defender  of  spiritual  truth  among  plain  people,  gained 
the  ability  to  write  profoundly  and  yet  lucidly  upon 
metaphysical  questions,  so  that  in  the  end  he  became 
essentially  an  interpreter,  a  philosopher  for  the  many  as 
well  as  for  the  few. 

During  the  generation  preceding  his  own  it  had  been 
established  by  a  long  and  varied  induction  in  all  parts 
of  the  knowable  world,  that  nature  was  uniform,  and 
this  concept  was  expressed  in  his  day  by  the  formula 
that  all  events  take  place  according  to  law.  This 
thought  was  used  for  the  purpose  of  undermining  Chris- 
tianity, and  "  Combe's  Constitution  of  Man,"  a  book  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made,  was  considered 
by  large  numbers  to  have  shown  conclusively  that  God 
was  but  another  designation  for  the  "laws  of  nature." 
As  if  to  fortify  this  position  Mill's  Logic  appeared,  con- 
taining what  seemed  to  be  a  demonstration  of  the  theory 
of  uniformity  which  completely  excludes  the  supernatural 
from  the  sphere  of  nature  and  man.  The  reading  of  these 
books  made  McCosh  very  uneasy,  and  in  every  leisure 
moment  he  pondered  what  might  be  meant  by  the  uni- 
formity of  nature,  and  how  such  a  uniformity  stood 
related  to  the  personal  Creator.  Considering  the  alter- 
nation of  day  and  night,  the  rotation  of  the  seasons, 


104  JAMES  MCCOSH 

and  similar  phenomena,  lie  seemed  to  discern  that  the 
principle  underlying  them  was  quite  different  from  the 
."law  or  laws  of  causation,"  as  that  fire  burns  and  light 
shines,  the  former  being  complex,  a  result  of  combina- 
tion which  implies  arrangement  and  design.  His  exten- 
sive reading  in  the  sciences  of  geology  and  biology  roused 
an  intense  interest  in  the  religious  problems  arising  from 
their  development,  and  this  was  another  element  in  his 
processes  of  reflection.  Simultaneously,  his  sermonizing 
and  spiritual  ministrations  impressed  upon  him,  ever 
more  and  more  deeply,  the  practical  force  of  Scriptural 
teaching  as  to  the  law  and  government  of  God.  This 
brought  the  whole  subject  of  the  divine  government, 
physical  and  moral,  into  great  prominence  before  his 
mind,  and  he  found  that  there  was  no  comprehensive 
book  on  the  subject  to  guide  his  thoughts.  He  deter- 
mined to  write  one,  but  as  his  scheme  took  form 
his  self-examination  suddenly  revealed  the  fact  that 
he  had  been  trained  in  a  philosophical  system,  the 
one  so  long  prevalent  in  Scotland,  which  took  no 
notice  of  so  obvious  a  fact  as  sin.  This  called  up  the 
novel  problem,  novel,  that  is,  to  the  Scottish  philos- 
ophy, of  the  relation  between  moral  law  and  sin. 
Meditating  upon  such  themes,  the  clergyman  seemed  to 
feel  as  never  before  that  the  Creator  is  not  only  benevo- 
lent but  holy,  and  thus,  tracing  natural  and  moral  law 
alike  to  their  source  while  at  the  same  time  taking  cog- 
nizance of  sin,  he  concluded  that  God  governs  this  world 
by  laws  much  mightier  in  their  sweep  than  is  ordinarily 
apprehended,  and  that  these  so  cross  and  co-operate  as 
to  secure  the  accomplishment  of  the  divine  purpose,  in 
spite  of  apparent  contradictious  and  interruptions.  The 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  105 

conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  was  that  God's  moral 
nature  makes  man  both  moral  and  responsible.  And 
if  this  were  true,  religion  could  not  be  what  Morell's 
"Philosophy  of  Eeligion,"  a  rationalistic  book  imbued 
with  transcendentalism,  antipodal  in  its  teachings  to 
Combe's  "Constitution  of  Man,"  and  also  widely  read, 
taught  that  it  was:  namely,  the  possession  of  certain 
religious  intuitions,  the  examination  of  these  by  the 
reason,  and  the  rising  by  reflection  upon  them  from 
the  particular  to  the  general. 

No  sooner  did  McCosh's  heavy  though  pleasant  labors 
in  founding  congregations  of  the  Free  Church  throughout 
the  district  assigned  to  him  relax  a  little,  than  he  be- 
gan the  composition  of  a  book  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
forth  this  line  of  thought.  The  result  was  "  The  Method 
of  the  Divine  Government,  Physical  and  Moral."  During 
the  period  of  writing,  the  author  received  much  encour- 
agement from  his  intimate  college  friend,  William  Hanna. 
It  was  he,  likewise,  who  aided  in  the  work  incidental  to 
publication.  The  author  showed  his  book  in  manuscript 
to  Dr.  Cunningham  and  Dr.  James  Buchanan.  Both 
approved,  and  the  latter  suggested  some  changes  which 
were  adopted.  The  volume  was  published  in  1850,  and 
through  Dr.  Guthrie  copies  were  sent  to  the  two  Scotch- 
men then  most  eminent  in  the  world  of  abstract  thought, 
Sir  William  Hamilton  and  Hugh  Miller.  The  former 
announced  his  decision  at  once:  "Aloof  from  any  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  and  though  I  have  as  yet  only  read 
the  work  in  part,  it  appears  to  me  worthy  of  the  highest 
encomium,  not  only  for  the  excellence  but  for  the  ability 
with  which  it  is  written.  It  is  refreshing  to  read  a  work 
so  distinguished  for  originality  and  soundness  of  think- 


106  JAMES  MCCOSH 

ing,  especially  as  coming  from  an  author  of  our  own 
country."  Hugh  Miller  said,  in  the  "  Witness,"  that  the 
work  was  of  the  "compact  and  thought-eliciting  com- 
plexion which  men  do  not  willingly  let  die:  and  we 
promise  such  of  our  readers,"  he  continued,  "as  may 
possess  themselves  of  it,  much  entertainment  and  in- 
struction of  a  high  order,  and  a  fund  of  solid  thought 
which  they  will  not  soon  exhaust."  Many  of  the 
author's  personal  friends  had  thought  that  it  was 
risky  to  publish  so  stout  a  volume  as  a  first  venture; 
but  under  the  sanction  of  men  like  Hamilton  and  Miller, 
the  first  edition  was  exhausted  in  six  months.  An 
American  edition  was  published  very  soon  afterward  by 
the  Carters,  and  that,  too,  sold  rapidly.  The  book  passed 
through  twenty  editions  in  less  than  forty  years  and  still 
has  a  sale  in  both  Great  Britain  and  America. 

Time,  therefore,  may  be  said  to  have  passed  its  judgment 
upon  the  "  Divine  Government."  The  book  succeeded  for 
two  reasons,  because  it  was  timely,  and  because  it  had 
intrinsic  worth  of  a  high  order.  Although  Hamilton  had 
spent  twenty  years  expounding  Kant,  though  Coleridge's 
"  Aids  to  Eeflection  "  had  attractively  presented  transcen- 
dentalism, and  though  Carlyle  was  turning  German 
thought  into  English  literature,  yet  German  speculation 
had  for  all  that  exercised  little  or  no  influence  on  the 
British  public.  Cousin  had  been  rather  the  fashionable 
novelty,  and  the  "Positive  Philosophy"  was  attracting 
attention.  The  distinction  between  Mental  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  which  was  then  well-nigh  universal,  is  most 
enlightening  for  the  comprehension  of  contemporaneous 
opinion  as  to  the  classification  of  the  sciences,  their  rela- 
tion to  each  other,  and  to  philosophy.  From  this  some- 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  107 

what  circumscribed  and  chaotic  condition  of  thought,  the 
two  tendencies  noted  above  had  already  emerged,  each  in 
its  own  way  doing  great  harm.  McCosh  was  not  con- 
cerned to  write  anything  which  would  be  in  the  air ;  he 
desired  to  combat,  and  did  attack  concrete  thinking  as 
it  then  existed.  Consequently,  although  it  is  possible  to 
trace  in  this  his  first  volume  the  origins  of  all  his  sub- 
sequent philosophical  writing,  the  book  is  in  no  proper 
sense  a  constructive  essay.  The  style  is  easy  and  flow- 
ing, popular  and  in  places  picturesque,  sometimes  even 
rhetorical  as  the  taste  of  the  time  required.  The  con- 
tents display  the  writer's  most  striking  characteristics : 
passionate  earnestness  to  battle  for  the  right,  keen  per- 
ception of  an  enemy's  snares  and  wiles,  catholic  compre- 
hension of  the  intellectual  state  among  those  whom  he 
seeks  to  win.  His  readers  were  in  the  main  not  philo- 
sophical experts,  but  laymen;  professional  men  in  law, 
medicine,  and  theology,  but  not  metaphysicians ;  merchants, 
teachers,  bankers,  —  the  thoughtful  multitude  which  wants 
to  know  in  the  vernacular,  and  dislikes  the  fog  of  techni- 
cal terms  too  often  used  by  experts  to  hide  the  lack  of 
definition  in  their  conceptions.  Such  men  rose  from  the 
perusal  of  the  "  Divine  Government "  with  the  assurance 
that  they  were  more  reasonable  in  their  Christian  faith  than 
those  who  sought  to  substitute  for  it  a  vague  materialistic 
interpretation  of  the  universe.  In  later  years  its  author 
thought  the  volume  "  lumpish,"  and  disliked  the  passages 
he  had  introduced  to  win  readers  not  disposed  toward 
philosophy.  He  felt  that  he  could  either  have  lengthened 
or  have  abridged  it  profitably,  but  like  every  man  with 
a  message  to  deliver,  he  was  unwilling  to  tamper  with 
what  had  been  his  best  work  at  the  time  it  was  done. 


108  JAMES  MCCOSH 

In  1850,  the  year  in  which  the  "  Method  of  the  Divine 
Government"  was  issued,  the  British  government  estab- 
lished in  Ireland  a  Queen's  University  for  the  promotion  of 
non-sectarian  education.  It  included  three  colleges,  situ- 
ated respectively  at  Galway,  Cork,  and  Belfast.  That  in 
the  last-named  city  was  the  strongest,  and  there  were  many 
candidates  for  its  chairs.  An  old  Edinburgh  University 
friend  of  the  author,  Professor  Gibson  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  in  Belfast,  sent  a  copy  of  McCosh's  "Divine 
Government  "  to  Lord  Clarendon,  the  famous  Whig  states- 
man, then  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  This  was  done  on 
the  professor's  own  responsibility  and  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  classmate.  The  volume  was  accompanied  by 
letters  recommending  McCosh  for  the  vacant  chair  of 
Logic  and  Metaphysics  in  Belfast,  both  from  the  sender  and 
from  the  president  of  the  college.  The  recipient  sat  down 
on  a  Sunday  morning  to  glance  through  the  volume,  and 
becoming  interested  read  throughout  the  whole  forenoon, 
forgetting  to  go  to  church.  Convinced  that  such  a  book 
could  come  only  from  the  pen  of  a  competent  and  sound 
thinker,  the  Earl  inquired  further  as  to  its  writer's  qualifi- 
cations as  a  teacher.  The  replies  were  enthusiastic,  and 
McCosh  was  appointed  to  the  professorship  without  any 
application  on  his  own  part,  directly  or  indirectly.  The 
letter  informing  him  of  the  fact  was  therefore  a  surprise, 
and  threw  him  into  a  dilemma.  On  the  one  hand,  he  was 
reluctant  to  leave  his  ministerial  office ;  on  the  other  hand, 
he  had  the  opportunity  to  follow  his  natural  bent,  to  cul- 
tivate his  aptitude  for  metaphysics,  and  to  exercise  a  pow- 
erful influence  on  the  opinions  of  young  men.  He  turned 
for  advice  to  Thomas  Guthrie  and  Hugh  Miller,  both  of 
whom  felt  he  should  at  least  consider  the  offer  with  care. 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  109 

Professor  Gibson  wrote  on  October  4, 1851 :  "  I  can  readily 
sympathize  with  you  in  your  perplexity.  It  is  a  serious 
thing  to  abandon,  under  any  circumstances,  the  direct 
work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  step  should  not  be  taken 
unless  the  way  were  made  plain.  There  is  no  doubt,  how- 
ever, but  the  person  who  may  fill  the  vacant  chair  will  be 
brought  into  immediate  contact  with  the  future  pastors 
of  the  church. " 

Such  considerations  induced  McCosh  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Belfast,  in  order  to  see  how  the  position  and  its  opportu- 
nities might  appear  on  closer  inspection.  He  found  that 
there  existed  considerable  local  jealousy,  a  feeling  directed 
not  so  much  against  himself  or  the  doctrine  he  had  ex- 
pounded, as  against  the  introduction  to  so  important  an 
office  of  a  stranger  from  over  the  sea.  Careful  scrutiny 
showed  that  the  whole  movement  turned  about  the  dis- 
appointment of  one  man,  who  had  considered  himself  the 
most  prominent  candidate.  Being  an  editor,  his  journal 
had  been  able  to  create  the  antagonism  without  revealing 
its  true  cause.  Professor  Gibson,  who  was  McCosh's  host, 
had  invited  a  company  of  gentlemen  to  dine  with  his 
friend,  carefully  selecting  those  whose  favorable  opinion 
would  be  most  influential  in  the  community,  among  them 
Dr.  Cooke,  the  leading  Presbyterian  clergyman  of  the  city. 
After  dinner,  the  host,  with  a  somewhat  quizzical  expres- 
sion, addressed  his  guest  very  pointedly,  and  inquired 
whether  he  was  familiar  with  the  Irish  custom  of  singing 
at  that  hour.  "Without  awaiting  an  answer  he  introduced 
his  son,  a  lad  with  a  fine  voice,  who  immediately  began  to 
sing  Thackeray's  now  well-known  ballad,  which  had  just 
been  written  to  satirize  the  Irish  exclusiveness  that  had 
flickered  up  in  relation  to  the  recent  appointment,  and 


110  JAMES  MCCOSH 

which  had  been  published  in  the  latest  number  of  "  Punch." 
The  verses  and  introduction,  as  there  printed,  are  as 
follows : 

THE  LAST  IRISH  GRIEVANCE. 

On  reading  of  the  general  indignation  occasioned  in  Ireland  by  the 
appointment  of  a  Scotch  Professor  to  one  of  HER  MAJESTY'S  Godless 
Colleges,  MASTER  MOLLOY  MOLONY,  brother  of  THADDEUS 
MOLONY,  ESQ.,  of  the  Temple,  a  youth  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  dashed 
off  the  following  spirited  lines : 

As  I  think  of  the  insult  that 's  done  to  this  nation, 
Red  tears  of  rivinge  from  me  faytures  I  wash, 

And  uphold  in  this  pome,  to  the  world's  daytistation, 
The  sleeves  that  appointed  PROFESSOR  M'COSH. 

I  look  round  me  counthree,  renowned  by  exparience, 
And  see  midst  her  childthren,  the  witty,  the  wise,  — 

Whole  hayps  of  logicians,  poets,  schollars,  grammarians, 
All  ayger  for  pleeces,  all  panting  to  rise  ; 

I  gaze  round  the  world  in  its  utmost  diminsion ; 

LARD  JAHN  and  his  minions  in  Council  I  ask, 
Was  there  ever  a  Government-pleece  (with  a  pinsion) 

But  children  of  Erin  were  fit  for  that  task  ? 

What,  Erin  beloved,  is  fhy  fetal  condition? 

What  shame  in  aych  boosom  must  rankle  and  burrun, 
To  think  that  our  countree  has  ne'er  a  logician 

In  the  hour  of  her  deenger  will  surrev  her  turrun ! 

On  the  logic  of  Saxons  there  's  little  reliance, 
And,  rather  from  Saxon  than  gather  its  rules, 

I  'd  stamp  under  feet  the  base  book  of  his  science, 
And  spit  on  his  chair  as  he  taught  in  the  schools  ! 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  111 

0  false  SIR  JOHN  KANE,  is  it  thus  that  you  praych  ine? 

I  think  all  your  Queen's  Universitees  bosh ; 
And  if  you  've  no  neetive  Professor  to  taych  me, 

I  scawurn  to  be  learned  by  the  Saxon  M'Cosh. 

There's  WISEMAN  and  CHUME,  and  His  Grace  the  Lord 
Primate, 

That  sinds  round  the  box,  and  the  world  will  subscribe ; 
JT  is  they  '11  build  a  College  that 's  fit  for  our  climate, 

And  taych  me  the  saj'crets  I  burn  to  imboibe ! 

'T  is  there  as  a  Student  of  Science  I  '11  enther, 
Fair  Fountain  of  Knowledge,  of  Joy,  and  Contint ! 

SAINT  PATHKICK'S  sweet  Statue  shall  stand  in  the  centher, 
And  wink  his  dear  oi  every  day  during  Lint. 

And  good  DOCTOR  NEWMAN,  that  praycher  unwary, 

'T  is  he  shall  preside  the  Academee  School, 
And  quit  the  gay  robe  of  ST.  PHILIP  of  Neri, 

To  wield  the  soft  rod  of  ST.  LAWRENCE  O'TOOLE ! 

The  stranger's  amazement,  not  to  say  consternation, 
under  the  amused  observation  of  the  merry  company, 
was  a  better  introduction  to  their  good  graces  than  any 
other  which  could  have  been  devised  by  his  host.  When 
it  was  announced  that  the  verses  were  by  no  less  a  man 
than  Thackeray,  the  guest  was  quite  as  merry  as  the 
others.  The  poem  was  copied  into  all  the  local  journals, 
and  dissipated  all  opposition  in  the  truly  Irish  way,  —  a  fit 
of  laughter.  Soon  afterward,  McCosh  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment, and  when  he  removed  to  Belfast  he  was  re- 
ceived with  heartiness  and  true  Irish  kindness. 

The  first  care  of  the  new  professor  was  to  fix  upon  the 
method  he  should  follow  in  his  teaching.  He  had  no 


112  JAMES  MCCOSH 

faith  whatever  in  an  argument  for  the  teaching  of  mental 
science  sufficiently  common,  both  then  and  now,  that 
even  if  there  be  no  truth  in  its  subject-matter,  it  is  fitted 
to  brace  and  discipline  the  mind.  Throughout  life  he 
remained  firm  in  the  conviction  which  in  later  years  he 
thus  expressed : 

If  truth  is  not  aimed  at  and  gained,  the  tendency  will 
be  to  bewilder  the  mind,  and  the  end  will  be  a  feeling  of 
disappointment,  discontent,  and  ennui.  There  will  always 
be  a  painful  contrast  drawn  between  the  solid  results 
reached  in  modern  physical  science  and  the  inanity  and 
emptiness  of  mere  speculation,  and  the  student  in  his 
struggles  will  be  as  one  that  beateth  the  air.  It  is  a 
realistic  philosophy  founded  on  the  facts  of  our  nature 
that  is  fitted  profitably  to  exercise  the  minds  of  young 
men,  to  stimulate  and  cultivate  their  observing  and  think- 
ing powers,  and  to  send  them  forth  with  important  prin- 
cipies  incorporated  into  their  very  being,  to  interest  and 
guide  them  through  all  their  future  lives. 

Trained  in  the  Scottish  school  of  philosophy,  he  was 
not  satisfied  either  with  its  methods  or  with  its  results. 
It  seemed  to  him,  when  confronted  with  the  solemn 
responsibility  of  training  unformed  and  receptive  minds, 
that  he  should  in  the  main  follow  the  experimental 
method,  emphasizing  what  he  found  by  introspection  in 
his  own  mind,  and  in  that  of  others  as  he  could  discover 
it,  either  by  personal  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men, 
or  by  the  perusal  of  the  best  biographies.  This  prin- 
ciple he  sought  to  follow  in  his  teaching  of  philosophy 
in  the  wider  sense  of  Psychology  and  Metaphysics.  But 
he  had  also  to  teach  Logic,  and  in  that  department  espe- 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  113 

cially  he  felt  the  method  of  the  Scottish  school  to  be  loose 
and  unscientific.  This  had  been  pointed  out  by  both  Hamil- 
ton and  Whately,  who  sought  to  restore  both  theoretically 
and  practically  the  rigid  correctness  of  Aristotle. 

Accordingly,  in  the  composition  of  his  lectures,  Pro- 
fessor McCosh  strove  earnestly  to  supply  the  omissions 
of  the  Scottish  school.  In  his  conclusions,  Psychology 
was  held  to  be  the  first  discipline  of  all  mental  science. 
In  constructing  a  system  he  gave  a  new  and  improved 
arrangement  of  the  relations  which  the  mind  can  dis- 
cover, which  he  held  to  be  those  of  identity,  of  whole 
and  parts,  of  comprehension,  of  resemblance,  of  space  and 
time,  of  quantity  and  action,  of  property  and  causation. 
Following  Aristotle,  he  introduced  into  his  teaching  a 
discussion  of  the  phantasy  or  pictorial  power ;  and  from 
his  own  speculations  he  brought  forward  what  he  called 
the  recognitive  power,  that  by  which  the  idea  of  an  event 
happening  in  the  past  is  obtained.  The  mental  powers 
he  divided  into  two  classes,  the  cognitive  and  the  motive, 
including  under  the  latter  the  feelings,  the  conscience, 
and  the  will.  What  was  then  designated  as  Metaphysics 
he  sought  to  strip  of  the  mystery  which  had  been  thrown 
around  it,  regarding  that  department  of  mental  science 
as  concerned  with  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  intellect- 
ual faculties.  As  to  Logic,  he  became  persuaded,  after  a 
long  course  of  careful  reading  and  reflection,  that  no  im- 
provement was  possible  in  that  portion  of  it  which  deals 
with  reasoning,  but  he  was  otherwise  impressed  with 
that  part  which  deals  with  the  notion  in  thought  and 
form  in  language.  Accordingly,  he  examined  that  divi- 
sion of  his  subject  with  interest  and  zeal,  and  concluded 
that  in  the  notion  were  three  simple  forms,  the  singular, 

8 


114  JAMES  MCCOSH 

the  abstract,  and  the  general,  with  a  fourth,  which  was 
a  compound  of  these.  These  views  he  developed  in  the 
treatise  on  Logic,  which  he  afterwards  published. 

Queen's  College  had  not,  of  course,  the  prestige  of  the 
ancient  universities,  like  Dublin,  Edinburgh,  Oxford,  or 
Cambridge ;  but  it  had  a  very  enthusiastic,  ambitious, 
and  active  body  of  students,  young  men  for  the  most 
part  who  had  no  particular  influence  of  birth  or  wealth, 
but  who  knew  that  the  authorities,  in  their  zeal  for 
securing  the  most  efficient  public  service  possible,  were 
scouring  all  the  institutions  of  learning,  and  that  their 
chance  in  a  new  institution  would  be  better  than  in  an 
older  one.  Among  such  students,  Professor  McCosh  was 
able  to  arouse  a  lively  interest,  and  one  more  general,  as 
he  always  felt,  than  any  he  was  afterwards  able  to 
awaken  in  America.  It  was  his  delight  to  encourage 
the  most  promising,  to  stimulate  their  ambition,  and  to 
assist  them  in  securing  employment  suited  to  their 
powers.  One  portion  of  his  method  as  a  teacher,  and 
that  upon  which  he  laid  the  greatest  stress,  was  his 
requirement  of  written  work  from  every  student  of  his 
class.  These  papers  he  criticised,  and  such  portions  as 
seemed  original  or  excellent  in  any  way  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  read  to  the  class  as  a  whole.  This  exercise 
brought  him  into  very  close  contact  with  his  students. 
He  was  fond  of  examining  their  aptitudes  and  characters, 
partly  from  human  sympathy,  partly  as  a  portion  of 
what  may  be  called  his  laboratory  work.  From  the  first 
he  was  astute  in  his  judgments,  and  his  greatest  pleas- 
ure was  to  see  his  predictions  verified.  No  one  can  have 
so  vivid  a  picture  of  a  great  teacher  as  his  pupils.  Two 
of  the  most  distinguished  have  recorded  their  impressions 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  115 

of  Professor  McCosh  as  lie  appeared  and  taught  in  Belfast, 
and  one  of  them  has  added  an  account  of  his  other  activi- 
ties at  the  same  time.  The  first  of  these  relations  is  by 
Sir  Eobert  Hart,  whose  extended  fame  as  the  director  of 
the  Chinese  custom-house  was  a  source  of  unceasing  satis- 
faction to  his  former  teacher.  Professor  McCosh  recog- 
nized his  eminence,  as  only  one  very  able  man  can 
recognize  another,  in  the  beginning  of  their  relations, 
guided  his  studies,  and  pointed  out  his  career  by  choos- 
ing him  as  the  candidate  of  Queen's  College  to  compete  in 
an  examination  for  a  position  in  the  consular  service  of 
Great  Britain  in  China,  open  to  all  the  colleges  of  the 
three  kingdoms.  Hart  stood  first,  received  the  appoint- 
ment, went  to  China,  won  the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  by 
his  integrity  and  ability,  and  is  now  the  first  among  all 
foreigners  in  the  Emperor's  service.  He  has  done  much 
for  China  in  the  institution  of  reforms,  and  is  the  mainstay 
of  his  country's  relations  to  the  Empire.  Among  his  many 
important  enterprises,  that  of  establishing  an  institution 
of  western  learning  for  the  Chinese  is  not  the  least 
worthy  of  mention.  The  gratification  felt  by  Dr.  McCosh 
when,  on  the  graduation  of  his  son  from  Princeton,  Sir 
Robert  Hart  wrote  to  offer  the  young  man  a  position  in 
China,  was  very  great.  Sir  Robert  Hart  writes  as  follows : 
"  I  have  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  Dr.  McCosh's  first 
appearance  at  the  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  in  1851.  His 
name  was  already  on  people's  lips,  and  the  large  class- 
room in  which  he  was  to  deliver  his  introductory  address 
was  filled  to  overflowing,  everybody  having  hurried  there 
to  welcome  the  new  arrival,  and  show  Ulster's  sympathy 
with  Scotch  learning.  I  can  see  him  as  he  passed  up 
the  hall  to  the  desk  in  the  corner,  —  a  tall,  broad- 


116  JAMES  MCCOSH 

shouldered  man,  with  a  fine  head  and  handsome  face, 
somewhat  bent  forward,  and  a  general  look  that  was 
more  clerical  than  professional.  The  paper  he  then  read 
was  long,  learned,  and  eloquent :  it  spake  the  thoughts 
of  a  man  who  believed  what  he  said,  who  regarded  men- 
tal science  as  the  study  of  studies,  and  who,  as  its  teacher, 
magnified  his  office,  —  and  it  was  pervaded  by  freshness 
of  mind  and  clearness  of  expression. 

"  I  presume  his  lectures  at  Princeton  were  the  same  he 
delivered  at  Belfast,  but  probably  retouched  and  ex- 
panded. I  wonder,  however,  if  he  ever  took  up  one 
point  on  which  I  once  asked  him  for  an  explanation 
without  getting  it,  and  that  was  the  process  the  mind 
goes  through  in  questioning,  —  ought  there  not  to  be  an 
Interrogative  faculty  on  the  list  ?  He  pulled  his  long 
nose  for  a  moment,  and  then  left  me,  but  never  recurred 
to  the  matter. 

"  His  lectures  were  quite  captivating,  but  dealt  with 
very  dry  subjects,  and,  although  I  followed  the  Logic 
course  at  sixteen,  and  took  Metaphysics  at  seventeen, 
they  interested  me  so  much  that  for  a  time  my  chief 
ambition  was  to  win  the  lecturer's  commendation,  and 
head  the  class.  I  wrote  quickly  in  those  days,  and  so, 
noting  down  most  of  what  he  said,  I  was  able  to  repro- 
duce his  own  language  at  examinations  and  in  essays, 
and  with  this  he  was  always  much  pleased.  He  held 
that  mind  and  universe,  being  the  creation  of  the  same 
hand,  correspond,  —  that  the  one  knows,  and  the  other 
is  'known,  and  that  reality  corresponds  to  knowledge. 
This  agreed  with  what  consciousness  tells  everybody,  and 
supplied  a  firm  foundation  to  build  on.  To  all  of  us  he 
was  very  kind,  while  somewhat  exacting,  especially  so 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  117 

to  the  more  earnest  students;  and  he  was  also  very 
stern,  although  readier  to  help  them  out  of  a  difficulty 
than  to  push  them  further  into  it,  with  the  idlers  and 
the  inattentive.  He  used  to  invite  us  to  his  breakfast- 
table  occasionally,  and  in  that  way  set  up  a  bond  of 
sympathy  between  his  classes  and  himself  which  did  not 
exist  in  other  departments.  Professors,  as  a  rule,  held 
their  heads  very  high,  and  it  was  only  in  the  lecture- 
room  that  students  came  in  contact  with  them.  On 
special  occasions  he  sometimes  consented  to  appear  in 
the  pulpit,  and  then  his  sermons  draped  orthodoxy  in 
robes  that  told  all  it  was  Professor  McCosh  who  was 
preaching. 

"During  my  last  year  at  college  he  talked  with  me  very 
kindly  about  my  plans  for  the  future,  and  very  frankly 
told  me  in  what  directions  he  thought  I  might  prove  a 
failure,  and  in  what  others  a  success,  but  it  certainly 
never  occurred  to  either  of  us  to  foresee  where  the  fates 
would  carry  us,  or  what  work  the  future  really  meant 
for  us.  Since  parting  in  1854,  we  never  again  met,  and 
the  letters  that  passed  between  us  have  not  been  numer- 
ous. He  always  evinced  a  very  friendly  interest  in  my 
person  and  in  my  work,  and  on  my  side  I  always  cher- 
ished the  hope  of  seeing  him  again,  and  looked  forward 
with  very  pleasant  anticipations  to  visiting  him  at 
Princeton  when  crossing  America  some  time  on  my  way 
to  Europe,  but  the  dear  old  man  is  dead,  and  the  ex- 
pected meeting  will  not  come  off  as  planned." 

The  other  account  is  by  Dr.  Macloskie,  professor  of 
Biology  in  Princeton  University.  It  displays  with  great 
fulness  the  characteristic  will-power  and  tenacity  of 


118  JAMES  MCCOSH 

purpose  which  Dr.  McCosh  displayed  in  championing 
what  he  believed  to  be  right,  whether  it  was  popular  or 
not. 

"  We  were  a  noisy  crowd  of  undergraduates  who  were 
assembled,  somewhere  about  the  year  1855,  in  the 
Library  of  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  for  the  reception 
of  the  noblemen,  distinguished  judges  and  divines,  whom 
her  gracious  Majesty  had  sent  as  Triennial  Visitors  of 
the  Institution.  The  group  about  myself  set  themselves 
to  the  interesting  problem  of  determining  by  personal 
inspection  which  of  the  great  men  on  the  platform  was 
the  finest-looking,  and  possibly  there  was  some  prejudice 
in  our  unanimous  decision  that  the  handsomest  and  most 
commanding  of  them  all  was  our  own  Professor  McCosh. 
Yet  even  then  he  was  beginning  to  show  the  studious 
stoop  which  somewhat  marred  his  noble  bearing.  We 
were  also  well  aware  how  much  his  personality  of  mind 
preponderated  over  President  and  Vice-president  and  our 
other  distinguished  professors  in  the  administration  of 
the  college ;  and  when  the  news  spread  that  the  only 
Professor  whom  we  regarded  as  a  Black  Sheep  had  been 
detected  in  his  delinquencies,  and  had  decamped,  we 
learned  that  it  was  McCosh  who  had  secured  the  evi- 
dence and  raised  such  a  stir  that  the  culprit  adopted 
the  better  half  of  valor.  Hence  the  Doctor's  name  be- 
came a  terror  to  evil-doers;  and  in  his  class-room  the 
most  unruly  of  the  students  was  absolutely  quiet. 

"  His  class  exercises  and  lectures  were  then  at  their 
best.  He  was  not  good  at  declamation  in  public;  there 
was  a  slight  hesitancy  in  his  extempore  utterances  on 
the  platform,  and  perhaps  too  much  logic  and  too  little 
"  padding  "  for  popular  assemblages.  But  in  expounding 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  119 

philosophy  or  drilling  students  the  hesitancy  disappeared; 
and  his  written  lectures  and  carefully  prepared  sermons 
were  very  fine,  not  even  omitting  "  padding  "  or  illustra- 
tions of  high  order.  As,  a  few  days  ago,  I  sat  beside  his 
coffin  in  his  library  there  rushed  up  before  my  memory 
the  lecture  on  the  Association  of  Ideas  in  which  he 
described  a  funeral,  the  death-scene,  the  hearse  and  the 
mourners,  and  all  the  accessories,  as  here  realized  over 
himself.  Before  leaving  home  on  that  morning  of  the 
funeral  I  had  stated  that  I  would  read  the  passage  of 
Scripture  from  which  he  preached  about  thirty  years  ago 
at  the  opening  of  Lecumpher  Church  (County  London- 
derry, Ireland) ;  whereupon  my  wife  promptly  told  me 
what  was  the  subject  of  the  sermon ;  and  on  my  inquir- 
ing how  she  knew  that,  she  replied  that  her  friend,  Mrs. 
Eobson,  had  been  present,  and  had  afterwards  given  her 
an  account  of  it.  It  is  not  bad  preaching  that  makes  an 
impression  lasting  even  at  second-hand  for  thirty  years. 
And  in  fact  it  was  a  sermon  that  none  but  a  great  man 
and  a  true  Christian  could  preach,  showing  expository 
power,  fire,  and  poetic  imagination,  and  exhibiting  Christ 
alone  as  the  sinner's  Friend.  Another  of  his  best  appear- 
ances was  before  the  Young  Men's  Association  in  Bel- 
fast, where  he  gave  lectures  on  Kenan's  "  Life  of  Jesus," 
shortly  after  its  publication.  I  have  before  me  a  news- 
paper cutting  of  the  first  of  these  lectures,  and  I  regard 
it  as  the  finest  specimen  known  to  me  of  vigorous  and 
profitable  apologetics.  It  would  be  as  racy  and  accep- 
table in  1894  as  it  was  in  1864.  I  would  also  add  that 
all  his  college  lectures,  as  well  as  his  philosophical  books, 
are  illuminated  with  "  bits  "  in  defence  of  Christian  truth, 
which  greatly  helped  the  faith  of  his  students. 


120  JAMES  MCCOSH 

"Among  the  community  at  large  he  was  singularly 
active  in  promoting  good  objects,  and  his  fertile  mind 
was  always  devising  new  schemes  for  advancing  morality 
and  religion.  During  all  his  life  his  plans  never  lay 
dormant;  but  so  soon  as  his  mind  was  clear  about  the 
plan,  he  attempted  its  execution.  In  this  way  he  did 
not  fail  to  disturb  the  peace  of  those  who  wished  to  be 
let  alone;  so  that  whether  we  judge  him  by  the  good  he 
attempted,  or  by  the  sort  of  opposition  he  encountered, 
the  verdict  will  be  the  same.  In  the  year  of  the  Great 
Revival  (1859),  whilst  some  worthy  men  held  aloof,  or 
even  attempted  to  condemn  the  movement,  and  to  fore- 
bode evil  results,  Professor  McCosh  was  active  in  trying 
to  give  it  a  right  direction.  He  conducted  Bible  classes, 
and  encouraged  others  to  the  same.  One  of  his  Bible 
classes,  which  required  long  journeys  across  Belfast,  was 
at  Lepper's  Row,  for  the  mill- workers,  where  with  the 
help  of  his  distinguished  pupil,  Mr.  Thomas  Sinclair,  he 
started  the  organization  which  has  developed  into  Dun- 
cairn  Church.  About  the  same  date  he  united  with  Rev. 
L.  E.  Berkeley  in  founding  the  Bible  and  Colportage 
Society  of  Ireland,  which  has  ever  since  continued  to 
send  trained  missionaries  with  the  word  of  God  and 
other  Christian  literature  to  all  parts  of  that  country. 
McCosh  to  the  last  regarded  colportage  as  the  most 
suitable  form  of  evangelization  for  the  circumstances  of 
Ireland.  It  was  the  sight  of  the  great  philosopher  going 
about  in  Belfast  with  his  collecting  book  in  hand  trying 
to  secure  support  for  colporteurs,  that  first  made  me  a 
convert  to  the  cause. 

"The  ecclesiastical  condition  of  Ireland  was  at  that 
time  anomalous:  the  rich  Episcopalian  minority  being 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  121 

sustained  as  the  Established  Church;  a  sop  thrown  to 
the  Presbyterian  middle-class  minority  in  the  shape  of 
a  Eegium  Donum  or  partial  endowment;  which  helped 
them  to  acquiesce  in  the  wrong  done  to  the  Koman 
Catholic  majority,  who  were  poor  and  left  out  in  the 
cold.  When  the  right  time  arrived  Dr.  McCosh  lectured 
and  wrote  in  favor  of  Disestablishment  and  Disendow- 
ment,  and  argued  from  his  experience  in  Scotland  for  the 
inauguration  of  a  Sustentation  Fund  by  the  Irish  Pres- 
byterians. This  was  the  opening  of  a  struggle,  which 
ended  in  the  carrying  out  of  all  his  views,  greatly  to  the 
furtherance  of  religion  as  the  people  of  Ireland  now  con- 
fess. But  he  gave  offence  by  his  first  advocacy  of  such 
measures,  and  he  was  reproached  with  intermeddling  in 
what  he  as  a  foreigner  could  not  understand.  After 
disendowment  had  become  an  accomplished  fact,  and 
McCosh  had  gone  to  America,  one  of  the  ecclesiastical 
leaders  said  to  me  that  the  incident  in  his  own  public 
career  which  he  most  bitterly  regretted  was  an  unkind 
speech  which  he  had  delivered  against  McCosh  in  the 
debate  on  disestablishment.  This  may  go  beside  the 
fact  that  the  American  ecclesiastic  who  wrote  most 
severely  against  Dr.  McCosh  for  his  advocacy  of  susten- 
tation,  afterwards  delivered  an  enthusiastic  eulogy  of 
him  at  an  annual  meeting  of  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary.  It  is  pleasant  to  recall  these  things  now 
that  all  the  actors  are  gone  to  their  reward.  McCosh's 
utterances  on  behalf  of  a  Sustentation  Fund  in  America 
were  the  sequel  of  his  observing  the  benefits  of  such 
measures  in  Scotland  and  Ireland;  and  notwithstanding 
opposition  his  proposals  are  already  bearing  fruit  in  this 
country  It  was  characteristic  of  the  man  not  to  be 


122  JAMES  MCCOSH 

frightened  by  personal  criticism  from  the  advocacy  of  a 
good  cause  (and  I  have  never  known  him  to  advocate 
what  was  not  good). 

"  During  my  student-days  the  great  work  on  '  Typical 
Forms  and  Special  Ends  in  Creation '  was  published 
under  the  joint  authorship  of  Dr.  McCosh  and  Dr. 
George  Dickie.  I  call  it  a  great  work  as  my  verdict 
after  having  read  it  over  again  within  the  last  year.  The 
contributions  of  both  authors  were  excellent,  though 
possibly  one  of  them  may  not  have  estimated  at  its  full 
value  the  share  of  his  colleague.  Dickie  was  a  man 
greatly  beloved,  of  fine  scientific  genius,  and  a  Christian 
through  and  through,  in  his  quiet  manner  a  contrast  to 
McCosh,  and  he  put  into  this  book  the  careful  observa- 
tions of  his  life-time.  The  book,  though  presenting  what 
I  regard  as  the  best  summary  of  the  old  argument  for 
Natural  Theology,  would  not  apply  in  our  time  without 
some  readjustment.  Its  '  Typical  Forms,'  borrowed  from 
Goethe  and  other  Nature-Philosophers  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, would  need  to  be  transformed  into  the  Types  or 
Phyla  by  heredity  of  our  day ;  and  its  '  special  ends '  are 
very  like  Darwin's  '  survival  of  the  fittest,'  but  giving 
prominence  to  the  principle  of  Design,  which  Darwin  so 
carefully  eliminated,  and  which  is  now  forcing  its  way 
back  even  into  Evolution-Biology.  Dickie's  method  of 
argument  by  marshalling  long  hosts  of  carefully  observed 
facts,  which  point  towards  the  goal,  is  so  strangely  sug- 
gestive of  Darwin's  method,  that  if  the  relative  dates  of 
their  works  were  reversed,  one  might  imagine  that 
Dickie  copied  Darwin. 

"  As  McCosh  was  the  only  name  then  known  to  the 
public  for  authorship,  he  got  the  lion's  share  of  the 


FIRST  EPOCH  OF  A  LIFE-WORK  123 

praise  ;  Dickie's  share  was  naturally  overlooked,  and  he 
felt  disappointed.  Some  of  the  Dublin  University  pro- 
fessors remarked  to  me  at  the  time  that  the  mistake  con- 
sisted in  not  publishing  two  books ;  as  the  part  of  each, 
if  made  a  separate  work,  would  have  been  more  popular 
than  their  joint  production.  What  really  ruined  the  run 
of  this  book  was  the  appearance  soon  after  its  publication 
of  Darwin's  '  Origin  of  Species/  which  carried  the  whole 
controversy  into  new  regions.  This  may  explain,  in 
part,  the  hostility  to  Darwinism  of  my  revered  friend, 
Dr.  Dickie,  whose  carefully  drawn  and  really  sound  lines 
of  argument  were  overwhelmed  by  the  new  theory ;  just 
as  Louis  Agassiz,  in  the  New  World,  was  annoyed  to 
find  all  the  speculations  which  had  lifted  him  to  emi- 
nence buried  by  the  same  influence.  Asa  Gray  tried  to 
show  to  the  American  people  that  Darwinism  was  prob- 
ably true,  and  was  quite  consistent  with  Christianity ; 
but  Gray's  influence  was  confined  to  scientific  circles, 
and  he  had  as  little  success  in  his  efforts  to  Darwinize 
the  American  public  as  he  had  in  his  effort  to  lead  Dar- 
win himself  back  to  theism.  Agassiz  was  the  scientific 
oracle,  and  when  he  called  Darwinism  infidelity,  the  pop- 
ular response  was :  Just  so. 

"  It  was  in  this  juncture  that  McCosh  showed  his  char- 
acteristic readiness  to  learn,  his  honesty  in  discarding 
his  published  opinions,  and  his  courage.  First  in  his 
'Christianity  and  Positivism,'  he  pointed  out  the  reli- 
gious bearing  of  Darwinism,  and  signified  his  acceptance 
of  it  when  properly  understood,  and  he  followed  this  up 
by  a  series  of  contributions  and  booklets,  as  'Develop- 
ment :  what  it  can  do,  and  what  it  cannot  do,'  and  by 
his  paper  before  the  Presbyterian  Alliance  in  Philadel- 


124  JAMES  MCCOSH 

phia,  1880.  He  knew  enough  science  to  keep  clear  of 
mistakes  on  that  side,  and  he  got  all  his  later  works 
read  in  proof  by  some  of  his  scientific  friends;  so  that 
his  writings  are  respected  by  scientists,  and  they  always 
commanded  a  hearing  from  the  public.  During  those 
years  there  was  much  agitation  among  the  churches  about 
Darwinism,  or  as  we  have  come  more  conveniently  to 
term  it,  Development  or  Evolution.  Our  Methodist 
brethren  dismissed  one  of  their  professors,  and  the 
Southern  Presbyterians  dismissed  another  for  teaching 
it ;  a  good  and  wise  divine  of  our  own  made  a  dangerous 
mistake  when  he  published  a  book  on  the  subject,  treat- 
ing it  as  if  it  were  a  theological  or  anti-theological  dogma, 
himself  grievously  misunderstanding  it  (as  non-scientific 
writers  nearly  always  do),  and  so  far  misleading  the  peo- 
ple that  an  attempt  was  made  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
to  do  for  Evolution  what  another  ecclesiastical  body  once 
attempted  to  do  for  the  movement  of  the  earth.  I  could 
give  many  illustrations  of  the  blunders  and  bad  spirit 
which  I  observed  among  able  Christian  men  on  this  ques- 
tion, and  the  brunt  of  the  storm  fell  on  Dr.  McCosh, 
whose  religious  sincerity  was  sometimes  questioned. 

"  But  these  matters  may  now  rest.  He,  by  his  writings, 
averted  a  disastrous  war  between  science  and  faith,  and  in 
'  his '  college,  men  have  studied  Biology  without  discarding 
their  religion.  At  length  over  all  America  a  happy  modus 
vivendi  has  been  reached ;  whilst  the  intelligent  public 
are  not  sure  whether  Evolution  is  sound  or  erroneous, 
they  are  convinced  that  it  is  not  dangerous  to  Christian- 
ity. I  suspect  that  future  writers  will  represent  this  as 
the  best  service  that  Dr.  McCosh  or  any  other  Christian 
apologist  has  rendered  in  our  day." 


CHAPTER  IX 

PUBLIC   LIFE   IN   IRELAND 

1856-1868 

'"PHE  benevolent  and  religious  work  of  Dr.  McCosh 
during  his  residence  in  Belfast  deserves  more  than 
passing  mention.  As  is  so  often  the  case  with  strong 
natures,  his  avocations  were  as  useful  and  arduous  as  the 
business  to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life.  His  social 
connections  were  from  the  beginning  very  extensive,  men 
and  women  of  all  classes  recognizing  in  him  that  vigor- 
ous humanity  which  transcends  the  limitations  of  birth 
and  station  in  all  directions.  Accordingly,  he  secured 
invaluable  assistance  from  every  social  rank.  One  of 
the  outcast  districts  in  the  great  manufacturing  city 
was  Smithfield,  and  in  that  slum  quarter,  with  the 
assistance  of  two  noble  co-workers,  Miss  Stevenson  and 
Miss  Simms,  he  established  a  school  which  grew  to  have 
six  teachers  and  sometimes  as  high  as  six  hundred  pupils. 
Though  it  was  ultimately  connected  with  the  national 
system,  the  teachers  were  then  as  always  expected  to  in- 
culcate piety  and  morality  both  by  precept  and  example. 
Nearly  two- thirds  of  the  scholars  were  of  Koman  Catholic 
families,  and  sometimes  the  priests  grew  alarmed  at  the 
possible  religious  influence  which  might  be  exerted  over 
the  members  of  their  flocks,  at  intervals  even  forbidding 
their  attendance  at  school.  But  such  episodes  were  of 


126  JAMES  MCCOSH 

short  duration,  and  the  school  continued  to  thrive  until 
it  was  firmly  established. 

To  a  man  of  Dr.  McCosh's  ardent  piety,  such  philan- 
thropic work  seemed  secular,  and  he  yearned  for  more 
spiritual  exercise.  Selecting  as  a  coadjutor  Mr.-  Thomas 
Sinclair,  his  ablest  student  at  the  time,  he  began  in  a 
large,  neglected  quarter  of  the  city  the  work  of  building 
up  a  congregation  and  organizing  a  church.  Visiting 
from  house  to  house,  they  inquired  for  the  Presbyterian 
families  which  they  knew  to  be  sparsely  scattered  through 
the  neighborhood,  and  when  one  was  found  the  well- 
known  name  of  the  younger  man  served  as  an  introduc- 
tion for  both.  These  families  had  for  the  most  part  come 
from  the  country,  and  sadly  needed  pastoral  attention.  If 
any  proved  indifferent,  Dr.  McCosh  suggested  communi- 
cating with  their  former  pastors,  and,  as  he  soon  had 
an  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  ministers  throughout 
the  north  of  Ireland,  he  would  thus  have  been  able  to 
establish  a  personal  influence.  But  ordinarily  even  the 
most  careless  were  startled  by  the  thought  of  permitting 
those  they  had  loved  in  their  country  homes  to  be  in- 
formed as  to  their  present  condition,  and  consented  to 
reform.  A  little  knot  of  regular  hearers  was  soon  gath- 
ered in  a  school-room  secured  for  the  purpose.  With  his 
old  habits  of  parochial  visitation  strong  upon  him,  Dr. 
McCosh  then  began  a  regular  canvass  of  the  quarter,  pass- 
ing no  door  without  a  summons.  The  Eoman  Catholics 
were  at  first  very  hostile,  but  as  he  avoided  all  contro- 
versial questions  he  made  many  warm  friends  among 
even  them.  He  was  fond  of  recalling  that  they  were 
never  unwilling  to  talk  both  of  the  Saviour  and  of  his 
love  for  sinners,  and  especially  anxious  that  the  Protes- 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  127 

tants  who  attended  no  place  of  worship  should  be  cared 
for.  Concerning  the  latter,  he  thus  obtained  much  in- 
valuable information,  and  within  a  few  months  he  had 
collected  an  audience  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  for  his  regu- 
lar services.  On  one  occasion  only  was  a  threatening 
demonstration  made  against  the  two  evangelists.  They 
wisely  avoided  a  conflict,  but  as  they  displayed  no  fear 
the  surly  working-men  who  threatened  them  dispersed. 
Choosing  his  opportunity,  Dr.  McCosh  made  ready  to 
organize  his  congregration,  and  to  that  end  invited  the 
people  on  a  certain  week-night  to  hear  a  sermon  from 
Mr.  Killen,  a  clergyman  located  at  no  great  distance  in 
the  country.  They  came  and  listened  eagerly.  On  the 
next  Lord's  Day,  their  leader  plumply  suggested  that  they 
should  elect  officers,  and  call  the  preacher.  They  were 
amazed,  and  at  first  declared  themselves  utterly  unable 
to  pay  a  salary ;  but  finally  they  yielded  to  persuasion, 
and  took  the  proposed  steps.  The  benevolent  and  wealthy 
father  of  young  Mr.  Sinclair  came  forward  at  the  crisis, 
and  erected  a  church  and  school-house,  thus  giving  the 
final  impulse  to  a  movement  well  started.  The  congrega- 
tion soon  became  numerous  and  strong. 

Dr.  McCosh  was  among  the  first  to  recognize  a  fact 
which  in  our  day  is  thoroughly  understood,  that  the 
hold  of  the  saloon  upon  the  masses  lies  partially  in  its 
social  attractiveness.  His  intimacy  with  working-men 
convinced  him  that  their  intemperance  was  often  inci- 
dental to  the  desire  for  relaxation,  which  took  them  to 
the  comfortable  and  cheerful  resorts  where  drink  is  sold. 
Accordingly,  he  interested  his  friends  in  a  project  to  pro- 
vide the  temperate  working-men  with  a  similar  meeting- 
place,  where  drink  was  not  sold.  A  house  was  secured 


128  JAMES  MCCOSH 

and  furnished  for  the  purpose ;  the  men  who  frequented 
it  were  made  to  feel  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  pro- 
prietorship. Dr.  McCosh  gave  his  constant  personal 
supervision  to  the  enterprise,  and  the  place  soon  became 
popular.  Many  were  preserved  from  temptation,  and 
the  organizer  felt  amply  repaid  for  his  labors  in  the 
opportunities  he  found  for  the  study  of  human  character, 
which  in  its  different  phases  was  the  subject-matter  of 
his  investigations.  In  fact,  he  looked  upon  such  observa- 
tion of  mankind,  which  to  many  others  would  be  casual, 
not  merely  as  instructive  amusement  but  as  the  indispen- 
sable complement  of  his  metaphysical  speculations. 

Probably  the  most  important  of  Dr.  McCosh's  avoca- 
tions was  the  scientific  study  of  educational  systems  in 
their  relation  to  the  people.  The  inhabitants  of  Belfast, 
which  is  a  great  manufacturing  centre,  and  confessedly 
the  most  enterprising  town  in  Ireland,  were  much  like 
those  of  similar  cities  elsewhere.  The  Scotch  professor 
found  himself  at  home  among  them  from  the  beginning, 
for  they  seemed  to  him  refined  and  highly  intelligent; 
taste  and  culture  being  fostered  by  the  Royal  Academical 
Institution,  which  they  had  founded  for  the  purpose.  In 
their  manners  he  found  them  to  combine  the  stability  of 
the  Scotch  with  the  liveliness  of  the  Irish,  very  many  of 
the  upper  classes  being,  in  fact,  of  Scottish  origin.  The 
successful  and  wealthy  families,  like  those  of  Great 
Britain,  were  aristocratic  and  exclusive,  and  during  the 
American  War  of  the  Rebellion,  then  raging,  they  sym- 
pathized for  the  most  part,  like  the  English  upper  classes, 
with  the  South.  In  this,  Dr.  McCosh  was  utterly  op- 
posed to  them,  and  he  made  himself  heard  with  no 
uncertain  sound.  The  plain  people,  on  the  other  hand, 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  129 

were  earnest  in  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty, 
and  so  also  were  their  friends  and  relatives  among  the 
Ulster  farmers.  The  classes  of  Queen's  College  had 
many  members  from  among  these  enterprising,  indus- 
trious, serious  people,  and  Professor  McCosh  became 
deeply  interested  in  them,  studying  their  needs  with 
care.  In  so  doing  he  was  thrown  much  with  the  Pres- 
byterian clergy.  The  Free  Church  movement  in  Scot- 
land had  been  followed  with  great  sympathy  by  the 
orthodox  Presbyterians  in  Ireland,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  a  movement  for  establishing  more  rigid  tests 
had  been  successfully  inaugurated.  Those  who  would  not 
subscribe  to  the  Westminster  Confession,  a  considerable 
number,  were  compelled  to  leave  the  ^church,  and  they 
formed  a  denomination  which  was  similar  in  character 
to  the  American  Unitarians  of  the  Channing  type.  The 
leader  of  the  orthodox  was  Dr.  Cooke,  the  ablest  of  the 
Unitarians  was  Dr.  Montgomery,  both  men  of  great 
power.  Irish  Presbyterianism,  therefore,  became  rigidly 
Calvinistic,  and  as  the  people  were  now  harmonious,  they 
also  became  combative,  in  particular  they  met  the  Roman 
Catholic  intolerance  with  equal  narrowness,  emphasizing 
the  political  tenets  of  the  Eevolution  of  1688,  and  iden- 
tifying themselves  with  the  Orange  societies  until  the 
enmity  between  the  two  classes  had  become  bitter.  The 
Presbyterians  were  the  stronger,  and  their  aggressive 
attitude  barred  the  way  to  any  missionary  work  among 
the  Roman  Catholics.  This  was  a  source  of  disquietude 
to  McCosh,  and  he  often  censured  the  Protestants  severely 
for  repelling  rather  than  wooing  their  fellow-countrymen. 
Of  course  the  Presbyterian  clergy  were  quite  as  resolute 
as  he  was.  Their  people  were  shrewd,  intelligent,  and 

9 


130  JAMES  MCCOSH 

laborious,  but  poor,  so  that  their  stipends  were  small, 
and  the  Eegium  Donum,  a  gift  from  the  government  of 
some  seventy  pounds,  which  each  settled  pastor  received 
as  a  supplement  to  his  salary,  was  of  great  importance  to 
them.  Hence  they  stood  in  a  conservative  relation  to 
the  state,  were  stanch  in  their  attachment  to  Church  and 
creed,  and  polemic  in  their  attitude  generally.  Dr.  Mc- 
Cosh  was  not  the  man  to  fight  with  negative  weapons. 
He  desired  the  abolition  of  the  Eegium  Donum,  in  order 
to  give  the  clergy  their  independence,  but  suggested  the 
raising  of  a  great  sustentation  fund  to  take  the  place  of 
the  government  bounty,  as  had  been  done  in  Scotland  to 
make  good  the  absence  of  .state  support  to  the  Free 
Church.  In  order  to  counteract  the  tendency  to  narrow- 
ness and  exclusiveness  which  sundered  the  various  classes 
of  the  Irish  population,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  reform 
of  education,  both  primary  and  intermediate. 

This  involved  him  in  a  great  agitation,  but  throughout 
he  kept  his  intimacy  with  the  able  ministers  of  Belfast, 
—  Dr.  Cooke,  Dr.  Morgan,  Mr.  McNaughton,  Mr.  William 
Johnston,  Mr.  Shaw,  and  Mr.  Knox,  —  a  fact  most  credit- 
able to  them  and  to  him.  Dr.  Cooke  was  a  thorough 
conservative,  eloquent  as  an  orator,  magnetic  as  a  leader, 
abounding  in  pointed  wit,  in  readiness  of  repartee,  and  in 
genuine  feeling.  Of  course  he  and  Dr.  McCosh  disagreed 
on  vital  points,  and  the  latter  was  often  exposed  to  the 
artillery  of  his  opponent's  wit,  but  it  was  characteristic 
of  both  that  their  final  parting  was  emotional  even  to 
tears.  The  force  of  the  double  agitation  against  state 
interference  in  the  Church,  and  an  imperfect  educational 
system,  lay  of  course  in  its  righteousness.  The  religion 
of  great  numbers  among  the  Protestant  laboring-classes 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  131 

was  nothing  but  a  hatred  of  "  Popery,"  and  the  faith  of 
the  Orangeman  was  his  antagonism  to  the  Romanist. 
Many  of  the  Orangemen  attended  no  church,  and,  being 
powerful  and  fearless,  felt  they  had  done  their  whole 
duty  when  they  had  defeated  their  opponents  in  the  too 
numerous  riots  which  were  called  Catholic  disturbances. 
The  ignorance  of  the  masses  was  as  complete  as  their 
indifference,  at  least  in  regard  to  anything  beyond  the 
rudiments  of  education.  The  primary  schools  were  excel- 
lent as  far  as  they  went,  but,  leading  to  nothing,  the 
formal  knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  had 
no  civilizing  influence.  In  order  to  support  the  colleges, 
grammar  and  high  schools  were  essential,  but  quite  as 
much  so  in  order  to  foster  habits  of  reading  and  medita- 
tion among  the  masses ;  above  all,  in  order  to  encourage 
the  able  and  ambitious,  an  easy  path  upward  must  be 
provided.  The  material  was  admirable  ;  what  was  needed 
was  the  machinery  and  the  emancipation  of  the  most 
powerful  class,  the  clergy,  which  might  be  expected  to 
carry  on  the  work. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  two  projects,  that  for  a  Presby- 
terian sustentation  fund  and  that  for  strengthening  and 
completing  a  national,  as  opposed  to  a  denominational 
educational  system  went  hand  in  hand.  Dr.  McCosh  never 
claimed  to  have  originated  either,  but  he  took  up  both, 
and  infused  new  vigor  into  them.  The  Sustentation 
Fund  he  saw  established  and  increasing  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  assure  him,  before  he  left  Ireland,  that  when  the 
day  of  disestablishment  came  and  the  Eegium  Donum 
was  withdrawn,  the  Presbyterian  Church  would  not  be 
left  crippled  and  inefficient.  He  was  fond  of  recalling 
his  co-laborers,  Sinclair,  Gibson,  McClure,  Hamilton, 


132  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Kirk,  and  others,  who  were  also  his  intimate  and  dear 
friends.  His  efforts  in  the  cause  of  Intermediate  Educa- 
tion brought  him  into  contact,  not  only  with  these  admir- 
able men,  but  also  with  others  of  even  greater  eminence. 
The  Endowed  Schools  were  all  in  the  hands  of  the  Irish 
(Episcopal)  Established  Church ;  consequently,  both  that 
body  and  the  Eoman  Catholics  were  opposed  to  any 
measures  of  reform  which  would  strengthen  Presby- 
terianisin.  Dr.  McCosh  wrote  a  widely  circulated  pam- 
phlet advocating  the  completion  of  the  National  System 
as  inaugurated  by  Lord  Derby.  Although  himself  an 
integral  part  of  it,  he  thought  it  imperfect.  Nevertheless 
it  seemed  to  him  the  best  possible  in  a  country  so  divided, 
and  he  took  every  opportunity  of  defending  it,  not  only 
in  its  then  existing  form,  but  also  in  its  proposed  exten- 
sion. It  was  attacked  on  the  ground  of  its  irreliglon,  as 
being  non-sectarian,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  then  prime  minis- 
ter, sympathized  with  those  who  brought  the  charge. 
To  Dr.  McCosh  it  seemed  that  for  the  sake  of  diffusing 
education  throughout  the  country  it  would  be  well  to 
take  the  risk  of  not  providing  a  sufficient  religious  train- 
ing in  government  institutions,  leaving  home  and  church 
to  supplement  the  school.  The  more  earnest  he  became, 
the  more  he  was  brought  into  prominence,  and  finally  he 
was  a  champion,  making  frequent  journeys,  first  to  Dublin 
and  then  to  London,  in  behalf  of  his  cause.  This  threw 
him  into  closer  contact  with  those  who  had  before  been 
friendly  acquaintances,  —  with  Mr.  Kirk  of  Keady,  with 
Sir  Hugh  Cairns,  then  member  of  Parliament  for  Belfast, 
with  Lord  Dufferin,  and  with  Lord  Meath.  The  result 
of  their  united  efforts  was  to  save  the  National  System 
for  many  years.  This  success  has  been  one  of  the  factors 


PUBLIC  LIFE   IN  IRELAND  133 

in  the  steady  elevation  of  the  Irish  masses,  and  of  their 
emancipation  from  the  destructive  superstition  to  which 
for  so  long  they  seemed  bound. 

Of  course  Dr.  McCosh  was  not  forgotten  in  the  land 
of  his  birth.  In  the  spring  of  1856,  his  tried  and  true 
friend,  Dr.  Guthrie,  wrote  gleefully  that  the  directors  of 
the  Theological  College  of  the  Free  Church  in  Glasgow 
needed  a  professor  of  Apologetics,  and  that  their  hopes 
were  centred  on  the  professor  of  Logic  and  Metaphysics 
in  Queen's  College,  Belfast.  "  There  stands  Glasgow 
College,"  he  said,  "  and  I  am  for  making  the  very  best 
of  it.  You  would  make  a  grand  professor,  —  no  doubt 
of  that.  Then  our  Church  would  be  much  the  better  of 
your  practical  wisdom ;  then  we  would  get  you  among 
ourselves,  no  longer  sundered  by  that  abominable  Irish 
Channel ;  then  I  think  you  would  like  it  to  be  engaged 
in  the  direct  service  of  Christ  and  the  Church."  This 
was  an  honorable  and  attractive  call,  and  as  such  re- 
quired serious  consideration,  the  more  so  as  some  oppo- 
sition was  speedily  developed  among  the  ultra-conserva- 
tives of  the  Free  Church,  "John  Hieland  men,"  as  Dr. 
Guthrie  called  them,  and  it  might  clearly  be  Dr.  McCosh's 
duty  to  lead  the  opposition  to  a  dangerous  movement. 
But,  after  long  and  careful  deliberation,  the  offer  was 
declined  in  these  words,  which  were  read  to  the  General 
Assembly  on  May  31,  1856  : 

About  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  after  I  had,  in  my  own 
limited  sphere,  fought  the  cause  of  the  Free  Church,  and 
when  public  matters  had  settled  down  into  a  quiet  state, 
and  my  position  locally  was  a  little  ambiguous,  I  had 
occasion,  apart  from  all  human  counsel,  to  review  myself, 


134  JAMES  MCCOSH 

with  the  view  of  deciding  (so  far  as  man  can  decide)  my 
future  career.  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  beside  the 
ministerial  office,  which  I  was  fond  of,  God  gave  me  but 
one  other  means  of  usefulness,  and  that  he  had  bestowed 
one,  just  one,  special  talent;  and  I  resolved,  instead  of 
dividing  my  energies,  which  I  had  previously  done,  among 
several  things,  henceforth,  after  discharging  my  primary 
duties  of  preaching  and  visiting,  to  devote  my  remaining 
life,  shorter  or  longer,  to  the  cultivation  of  a  Christian 
philosophy.  In  coming  to  this  conclusion,  I  did  not  find 
it  necessary  to  estimate  the  extent  of  my  power  in  this 
respect ;  it  was  enough  for  me  that  it  seemed  to  be  my  gift 
bestowed  by  God,  and  to  be  used  by  me  to  His  glory.  I 
have  adhered  hitherto  to  that  resolution,  and  hence  my 
published  works  and  my  acceptance  of  the  chair  here ;  and 
all  my  plans  for  years  to  come  (if  so  spared,  and  if  not 
spared,  God  may  raise  up  a  far  fitter  instrument)  are  in 
the  same  direction,  and  look  to  the  establishment  of  a 
philosophy  prosecuted  in  the  inductive  manner,  resting 
on  facts,  and  confirmatory  or  illustrative  of  true  religion. 

But  apparently  the  General  Assembly  had  become  con- 
vinced that  they  needed  the  man.  In  spite  of  Dr. 
McCosh's  stand,  he  was  formally  elected  "  to  be  Professor  of 
Apologetics  and  Theology  in  the  Divinity  Hall  at  Glasgow." 
The  call  seemed  urgent,  but  the  unwilling  candidate  knew 
himself  better  than  his  friends,  and  firmly  declined. 

The  fact  was  that  Dr.  McCosh's  many  activities  had 
made  him  a  personage  in  Great  Britain  as  well  as  in  Ire- 
land. One  of  his  interests  was  the  substitution  of  exami- 
nations for  patronage  in  the  appointment  of  candidates 
for  the  civil  service.  Having  given  important  assistance 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  135 

to  that  much-needed  reform,  he  was  one  of  the  first  chosen 
to  be  examiners.  Among  his  associates  were  many  men 
of  great  eminence  in  the  world  of  philosophy.  One  of 
these  was  Principal  Grant  of  Oxford,  who  said  that  Dr. 
McCosh's  Moral  Science  Papers  were  considered  by  many 
to  be  the  most  judicious  of  all  which  were  set,  and  most 
generously  complimented  his  colleague  on  a  result  so 
satisfactory.  This  success  was  not  strange,  because  in  his 
hours  of  leisure  the  busy  professor  and  philanthropist  was 
acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  German,  and  was  using 
it  to  become  familiar  with  German  philosophy.  Without 
any  rigid  and  enslaving  division  of  his  time  he  was  never- 
theless so  diligent  and  so  versatile  that  he  kept  steadily 
onward  in  many  different  fields  simultaneously.  The 
British  thinkers  had  just  discovered  the  world  of  German 
learning,  and  constructive  thought  was  no  longer  possible 
without  some  familiarity  with  it.  McCosh  was  immersed 
in  a  new  philosophical  investigation,  and  determined  to 
know  what  had  been  done  on  similar  lines  among  Conti- 
nental thinkers.  In  a  few  years  he  became  adept  and  to 
such  a  degree  that  his  horizon  was  far  wider  than  that  of 
any  except  a  very  few  of  his  contemporaries.  Aware  of 
all  that  had  been  accomplished  in  the  home  of  Kant,  it 
was  a  natural  curiosity  which  prompted  him  to  journey 
thither.  Some  account  has  already  been  given  of  the 
volume  entitled  "  Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in 
Creation."  Dr.  McCosh  himself  recalled  its  origin  and 
fate  as  follows : 

As  I  walked  or  rode  out  in  summer  to  visit  my  coun- 
try people,  I  looked  at  the  trees  and  shrubs.  Notwith- 
standing that  these  were  so  torn  by  the  wind  or  by  cattle, 


136  JAMES  MCCOSH 

I  noticed  that  there  was  some  sort  of  order  in  their  growth, 
and  in  the  forms  that  they  took.  I  had  never  studied 
botany,  which  was  not  in  the  College  Course,  and  in  Glas- 
gow and  Edinburgh  was  taught  in  the  summer  when  we 
had  gone  to  our  homes.  Despite  the  difficulties  I  felt, 
I  resolved  to  study  the  forms  of  plants,  and  made  myself, 
if  not  a  scientific  botanist,  at  least  an  enthusiastic  amateur, 
observing  some  fresh  points  which  botanists  had  not 
noticed.  I  found  that,  when  normally  grown,  the  leaf 
resembled  the  tree,  and  that  the  branches  took  the  same 
general  shape.  I  saw  that  the  venation  of  the  leaf  corre- 
sponded to  the  branches  of  the  tree,  and  to  its  general 
ramification.  I  noticed,  in  particular,  that  the  veins  of 
the  leaf  went  off  at  the  same  angles  from  the  midrib  as 
the  branches  did  from  the  trunk,  and  as  the  smaller 
branches  did  from  the  larger ;  that  when  the  angle  of  the 
veins  was  narrow,  the  leaf  became  linear,  and  the  whole 
tree  and  its  branches  also  became  linear  ;  and  that  when 
the  angle  of  the  leaf  was  obtuse,  the  tree  and  its  branches 
were  also  swollen  out.  I  became  intensely  interested  in 
these  discoveries.  The  tree  stood  before  me  as  a  unity  in 
its  branches  and  in  its  branch  lets  and  its  leaves.1 

1  (Note  by  Professor  Macloskie  of  Princeton.)  "  When  Dr.  McCosh's 
theory  about  leaves  was  first  published  (1851),  it  excited  interest ;  and  it  is 
summarized  in  Balfour's  '  Classbook  of  Botany,'  with  some  suggestions  of 
difficulties  because  of  variations  of  angles  of  ramification  within  the  same 
plant.  His  argument  has  been  reinforced,  and  has  received  scientific  expla- 
nation by  the  discovery  of  the  continuity  of  the  tissues  of  leaf  and  stem. 
The  leaf  is  now  regarded  as  a  projection  in  a  plane  surface  of  the  stem,  or 
branch,  which  bears  it ;  and  their  correspondence  is  not  a  matter  of  type  but 
of  genetic  identity.  This  fact  is  demonstrated  in  Part  II.  of  the  splendid 
Memoir  of  Gravis  on  the  Vegetative  Organs  of  Urtica  Dioica  (1886),  which 
was  crowned  by  the  Royal  Academy  of  Belgium.  Since  the  branches  are 
a  fragmentation  or  tributary  system  of  the  mother-stem,  the  results  of 
Gravis's  investigations  amount  to  an  indorsement  of  McCosh's  theory." 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  137 

Surrounded  by  these  objects  I  went  out  to  my  parish 
work,  and  addressed  the  people  with 'additional  zest  from 
having  such  proofs  of  the  order  of  the  works  of  the  God 
I  served.  I  did  not  know  German  at  that  time ;  but  I 
turned  to  the  ordinary  botanical  works  in  English,  and 
could  find  no  traces  of  such  a  correspondence  of  leaf  and 
plant  being  known.  I  sought  the  acquaintance  of  Dr. 
Balfour,  professor  of  Botany  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  was  encouraged  by  him  in  my  researches.  I 
read  a  paper  before  the  Botanical  Society  of  Edinburgh, 
and  another  paper  before  the  British  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science.  They  listened  to  me  very  re- 
spectfully ;  but  they  were  afraid  to  commit  themselves  to 
my  views.  I  remember  that  one  of  them  thought  that 
the  branches  of  the  tree,  instead  of  going  out  according  to 
strict  mathematical  law,  went  out  as  they  best  could. 
Others  looked  on  my  discovery  as  a  pleasant  fancy.  I 
challenged  my  critics  to  go  with  me  into  any  botanic  gar- 
den, and  I  convinced  all  who  had  the  courage  to  go  with 
me. 

Notwithstanding  the  doubts  of  British  men  of  Sci- 
ence, I  persevered  in  my  researches  in  various  countries, 
in  different  parts  of  Scotland,  in  some  parts  of  England 
and  Germany,  and  on  the  High  Alps. 

I  had  the  happiness  of  securing  the  concurrence  of 
my  colleague,  Dr.  Dickie  of  Queen's  College,  Belfast. 
My  views,  meanwhile,  of  the  order  of  nature  were  en- 
larging. Dr.  Dickie  and  I  agreed  to  publish  a  joint  book 
on  "Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in  Creation,"  in 
which  was  expounded  the  general  order  which  runs 
through  Creation,  while  we  showed  that  there  were 
special  ends  served  in  the  different  organs  of  plants. 


138  JAMES  MCCOSH 

We   expected    that    this    would   be  a  contribution   to 
natural  theology. 

When  I  went  to  Berlin  in  1858, 1  took  this  volume 
with  me,  and  presented  copies  of  it  to  such  men  as 
Alexander  von  Humboldt  and  Professor  Braun.  I  have 
referred  elsewhere  to  the  reception  given  to  it  by  Hum- 
boldt. I  was  delighted  to  find  that  the  views  I  pre- 
sented of  the  forms  of  plants  were  already  familiar  to 
Dr.  Braun  and  others,  and  that  Dr.  Braun  had  given  to 
his  views  a  mathematical  organization,  such  as  I  had  not 
done.  I  confess  that  along  with  my  joy  there  was  a 
slight  mortification  that  I  could  not  claim  the  discovery, 
which  had  been  previously  made  by  certain  German 
botanists.  From  this  date  I  gave  less  time  to  my  botani- 
cal researches,  as  I  knew  that  the  interesting  views  which 
I  had  presented  would  be  preserved. 

Dr.  McCosh's  travels  on  the  Continent  have  fortunately 
been  described  by  himself.  His  first  journey  to  America, 
though  preliminary  to  the  most  momentous  change  of 
his  life,  he  briefly  mentions.  Before  giving  his  account 
of  both  we  may  be  permitted  to  give  the  record  of  a  few 
more  incidents  of  his  Belfast  life.  Among  other  distin- 
guished Scotchmen  who  had  been  interested  in  his  career 
was  the  Duke  of  Argyll.  They  had  met  frequently  and 
corresponded  with  more  or  less  regularity  as  topics  of 
common  interest  arose  in  the  world  of  thought.  To  this 
friendship  was  due  one  of  the  professor's  greatest  social 
pleasures  which  he  thus  described: 

I  have  not  had  much  intercourse  with  the  aristocracy 
of  the  Old  World.  With  one  family,  however,  I  was  in- 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  139 

timate,  that  of  Viscount,  afterwards  Earl,  Dufferin,  and 
now  Marquis  of  Dufferin.  His  mansion  "Clandeboy"  was 
within  eleven  miles  of  Belfast.  He  was  a  descendant  of 
the  great  orator  Sheridan,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and  of  a 
fine  literary  taste.  He  had  more  special  tact  than  any 
man  I  have  known,  —  a  tact,  springing  not  from  cunning 
or  deceit,  but  from  a  keen  sympathy  with  those  he  met 
with,  and  a  desire  to  gratify  them.  I  believe  I  owe  my 
acquaintanceship  with  him  to  a  good  word  spoken  in  my 
behalf  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll. 

He  was  anxious  in  his  retired  place  to  have  some 
literary  intercourse.  He  kept  what  he  called  a  prophet's 
chamber  for  me,  and  often  invited  me  to  dine  and  spend 
a  day  or  two  with  him.  He  was  laying  out  his  demesne, 
grading  it,  and  forming  small  lakes,  and,  as  I  was  fond  of 
these  pursuits,  he  consulted  me  at  times.  He  provided  a 
good  horse  for  me,  and  we  rode,  often  galloped,  over  his 
extensive  grounds. 

He  entertained  a  large  amount  of  company,  and  I 
met  with  a  kind  of  people  whom  I  did  not  usually  fall 
in  with,  —  noblemen  and  artists ;  and  it  was  a  new  life 
to  the  abstract  metaphysician.  He  honored  me  on  one 
occasion  by  inviting  me  to  meet  Earl  Carlisle,  at  that 
time  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  There  was  a  very 
distinguished  company,  and  they  all  placed  me  on  an 
equality  with  themselves.  Earl  Carlisle  drew  particu- 
larly toward  me,  and  we  talked  much  on  religious  and 
literary  topics.  Ever  afterwards  I  was  invited  to  pay  my 
respects  to  him  at  the  Castle  when  I  visited  Dublin,  and 
was  commonly  asked  to  dinner. 

At  Clandeboy  all  was  becoming.  Every  morning 
there  was  family  worship,  in  which  all  the  household 


140  JAMES  MCCOSH 

was  assembled.     His  Lordship  conducted  it  himself,  even 
when  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  Conner  was  present. 

One  day  as  we  were  riding  in  the  park,  after  a  gallop 
we  loosened  reins,  and  were  walking  leisurely.  I  had  the 
courage  or  impertinence  to  say  to  him:  "My  Lord,  I  fear 
you  are  not  fulfilling  the  end  of  your  life."  He  looked  at 
me  sternly,  and  asked  me  somewhat  imperiously  what  I 
meant.  I  told  him  that  I  said  what  I  meant,  and  meant 
what  I  said.  I  told  him  that  he  had  high  talents  and 
accomplishments ;  that  he  had  extensive  patrimonial  in- 
fluence in  his  descent,  and  extensive  property,  and  that 
something  great  and  good  was  expected  of  him.  "But 
what,"  he  asked,  "do  you  expect  of  me?"  I  at  once 
answered  that  I  expected  him  to  devote  himself  to  states- 
manship. He  inquired  thoughtfully  and  earnestly,  "Do 
you  think  I  have  the  talents  for  this  work  ? "  I  answered 
him  that  I  thought  he  had,  and  that  he  had  only  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  work  to  do  much  good,  and  rise  to 
distinction.  We  rode  very  leisurely  the  rest  of  the  way 
to  the  castle.  It  was  evident  that  he  was  thinking  ear- 
nestly. I  know  not  for  certain  whether  this  conversation 
had  any  influence  on  his  future  career,  but  very  soon 
after  he  was  deep  in  political  affairs.  He  was  sent  out 
to  Syria  to  quell  a  disturbance.  I  congratulated  him  on 
his  return  on  his  success  in  pacifying  Syria.  "Yes,"  said 
he,  "as  the  sand  of  the  desert  is  pacified  till  the  next 
breeze."  I  did  not  wonder  when  this  youth  rose  to  be 
Governor  of  Canada,  and  then  Governor  of  India,  in 
both  of  which  positions  both  he  and  his  most  estimable 
lady  did  much  good.  I  may  be  allowed  to  add  that  it 
was  thus  that  I  dealt  with  my  higher  students,  and  often 
stirred  them  up  to  high  efforts  in  their  various  vocations. 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  141 

His  mother,  a  granddaughter  of  Brinsley  Sheridan, 
commonly  lived  with  him.  I  never  knew  a  son  more 
attached  to  a  mother.  I  remember  on  one  occasion  of 
his  taking  me  into  a  quiet  room  where  there  was  a  por- 
trait of  his  mother ;  and  then  how  he  devoted  an  hour  to 
pouring  out  his  affection,  and  reciting  her  high  qualities. 
I  believe  that  he  regularly  devoted  such  an  hour  —  a 
sacred  one  —  to  meditation  on  his  mother. 

After  Lord  Dufferin  was  launched  upon  his  distinguished 
career,  he  appears  to  have  cherished  the  memory  of  his 
acquaintance  with  Dr.  McCosh,  and  among  the  latter's 
papers  is  a  letter  requesting  an  opinion  on  the  then  absorb- 
ing question  of  intermediate  education.  There  are  also 
many  charming  and  intimate  letters  from  the  Duke  of 
Argyll,  whose  correspondence  ceased  only  with  the  close 
of  his  friend's  life.  The  following  is  characteristic  of  the 
relations  which  existed  between  them : 

MACHARIOCH  HOUSE,  CAMPBELLTOWN, 
Sept.  21,  1867. 

MY  DEAR  DR.  McCosH,  —  The  sight  of  the  Belfast 
hills  from  this  coast,  as  well  as  the  paper  you  lately 
sent  me  containing  a  letter  from  you  on  the  Endow- 
ment question,  remind  me  that  I  have  not  yet  thanked 
you  for  your  very  kind  review  and  criticism  on  the 
Reign  of  Law.  I  received  it  when  in  the  thick  of  the 
Reform  Discussions  in  Parliament,  and  I  laid  it  aside 
till  I  should  have  some  leisure  to  read  it  with  care. 
Since  I  came  to  Scotland  I  have  been  as  busy  as  out-of- 
door  pursuits  would  allow  me  in  preparing  an  opening 
address  for  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in 
Glasgow,  and  this  I  have  just  completed. 


142  JAMES  MCCOSH 

It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  find  that  on  the  whole  our 
agreement  is  so  great  OD  the  questions  raised  respecting 
"Law  in  the  Kealm  of  Mind."  I  think  that  substan- 
tially we  are  at  one,  and  I  find  this  impression  strength- 
ened as  I  read  more  carefully  over  again  your  excellent 
metaphysical  works. 

I  hope  during  this  winter  to  be  able  to  devote  some 
time  to  a  revised  edition  (the  fifth)  of  the  Keign  of  Law, 
when  I  shall  take  advantage  of  the  notes  so  kindly  sup- 
plied to  me  by  you. 

I  am  afraid  I  must  avow  on  the  other  hand,  substan- 
tial disagreement  with  you  on  the  Endowment  question. 
I  think  indeed  that  "  Free  churches  are  the  future  of  the 
world,"  and  that  the  upshot  of  present  controversies  will 
be  a  general  severance  of  churches  from  Endowment; 
but  though  this  result  may  at  any  time  be  rapidly 
precipitated,  yet  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  it  is 
still  a  long  way  ahead  of  us.  But  what  I  clearly  hold 
is  that  "  the  state "  is  not  a  person,  with  the  same  duties 
and  obligations  as  an  individual;  and  that  there  is  no 
violation  of  any  duty  in  the  payment  of  more  churches 
than  one,  should  other  considerations,  or  existing  facts, 
recommend  such  a  course. 

It  seems  to  me  as  clear  a  proposition  as  any  proposi- 
tion can  be  that  money  derived  from  a  common  fund  to 
which  men  of  all  creeds  contribute,  not  only  may,  but 
ought  to  be  divided  on  a  common  and  not  on  an  exclu- 
sive principle  of  distribution.  The  state  is  nothing  but 
an  aggregate  of  individuals,  and  if  they  are  divided  be- 
tween (what  you  or  I  may  deem)  truth  and  error,  so 
likewise  must  be  the  influence  they  exert  in  matters  of 
religion.  I  confess  I  do  not  think  it  just  —  consistent 


PUBLIC  LIFE  IN  IRELAND  143 

with  that  primary  virtue  which  Christianity  enforces 
as  much  as  any  dogma  —  that  all  the  funds  provided 
by  ancient  laws  for  pious  uses  in  Ireland  should  be 
appropriated  exclusively  to  the  pious  use  of  a  small 
minority  of  the  People.  Would  the  Irish  "state,"  if  it 
were  separate,  tolerate  this  distribution? 

Pray  let  me  have  your  paper, — to  be  read  before  the 
S.  S.  Association. 

AKGYLL. 


CHAPTER  X 

AUTOBIOGKAPHICAL. TEAYELS   IN   GERMANY 

AND   AMERICA 

TT  was  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  May  18,  1858, 
that  I  sailed  from  Leith  on  a  steamer  bound  for 
Hamburg.  I  had  better  spare  the  details  of  a  voyage 
by  no  means  pleasant,  in  a  strong,  clumsy  vessel  fitted 
for  freight  rather  than  passengers,  vigorously  ploughing 
its  way  through  terribly  angry  waves,  bent  on  tossing  us 
up  and  down  on  our  berths,  and  pulling  our  stomachs  into 
as  agitated  a  state  as  they  themselves  were.  For  our 
comfort,  the  stewardess  informed  us  that  she  had  never 
been  out  on  so  fearful  a  night  except  once,  when  one  of 
the  ships  of  their  line  had  been  wrecked.  It  is  curious 
that  on  such  occasions  our  feeling  is  apt  to  be  callous- 
ness. All  next  day  we  were  in  the  midst  of  fearfully 
agitated  waves,  which  would  have  looked  grand  if  we 
could  have  calmly  contemplated  them.  Beyond  them 
the  piercing  eye  could  discover  no  land  on  the  British 
or  Continental  sides.  On  the  third  day,  the  wind  was 
in  a  balmy  humor,  and  the  sea,  his  passion  exhausted, 
was  rocking  himself,  like  a  passionate  child,  to  rest. 
Passing  some  interesting  villages  we  arrived  at  Hamburg 
on  Thursday  night. 

Perhaps  the  most  eminent  man  in  intellectual  philoso- 
phy in  Berlin,  at  the  time,  was  Professor  Trendelenburg.  I 
attended  some  of  his  lectures.  His  class,  which  amounted 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA      145 

to  only  thirty-three,  met  at  a  quarter  past  the  hour,  — 
this  seems  the  custom  in  Germany.  He  came  in  quick, 
—  a  tall,  thin,  somewhat  ungainly,  intellectual-looking 
man.  He  mumbled  so  fast,  and  in  so  low  a  tone,  that 
I  scarcely  heard  him,  and  did  not  fully  understand  him. 
One-half  of  his  students  were  languid,  and  took  no 
notes.  He  is  an  Aristotelian,  and  has  written  fully  on 
the  Categories.  He  invited  me  to  his  house,  and  was 
very  kind  to  me.  I  got  much  instruction  from  him. 
For  scholarship  he  may  be  regarded  as  the  Sir  William 
Hamilton  of  Berlin,  but  he  had  not  the  impetuosity 
of  the  Scotchman.  He  did  much  to  undermine  the 
supremacy  of  Hegel. 

The  most  striking  metaphysician  I  met  with  in  Berlin 
was  Michelet.  He  was  first  pupil  and  then  assistant  to 
the  great  speculator  Hegel.  He  was  an  extreme  and 
decided  pantheist.  He  wore  spectacles,  had  rough  hair, 
and  had  on  a  somewhat  ungainly  dress.  He  began  his 
lectures  before  he  sat  down,  and  after  he  sat  down  he 
rose  up  as  if  by  impulse.  In  delivering  his  lecture,  he 
was  now  sitting  and  now  standing,  waving  his  hands 
in  all  directions,  now  touching  his  head  with  them,  and 
now  whirling  them  all  around.  His  face  was  now  grave 
and  earnest,  and  anon  covered  with  smiles.  The  attend- 
ance in  all  was  only  twenty-one,  and  not  more  than  half 
of  them  took  notes,  but  a  few  big-brained,  bewildered- 
looking  fellows  drank  in  the  whole  discourse  greedily. 
His  utterance  was  clear,  and  I  understood  him  thor- 
oughly. He  showed  that  all  things  are  identical,  — .God 
and  the  world,  you  and  me,  truth  and  error.  It  would 
have  been  amusing,  had  it  not  been  melancholy,  to  hear 
a  mature  man  uttering  such  extravagances.  He  has  for- 

10 


146  JAMES  MCCOSH 

tunately  outlived  his  day,  and  now  there  are  few  even  in 
Germany  who  believe  in  him.  I  got  from  him  a  list  of 
late  philosophic  works,  all  of  them  of  a  low  tendency. 

After  visiting  the  graveyard  together,  we  drove  out 
to  Charlottenburg.  There  we  saw  the  monument  to 
the  late  King  and  Queen,  —  the  patriotic  Queen  who 
resisted  so  vigorously  the  inroads  of  Napoleon.  This  is 
the  finest  monument  to  the  dead  I  have  ever  seen.  The 
repose  is  so  perfect,  —  "  She  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth." 
We  returned  to  the  city  in  an  omnibus.  We  had  carried 
on  the  philosophic  discussion  all  this  time.  Two  ladies 
in  the  omnibus  joined  in  it.  They  had  seen  me  at  some 
religious  meeting,  and  probably  knew  who  Michelet  was, 
and  they  attacked  the  Hegelian  philosophy,  and  de- 
fended Christianity  very  keenly.  Being  very  wearied 
I  gave  up  the  discussion  to  them,  and  sat  rejoicing  in 
it,  the  more  pleasantly  as  I  found  that  the  ladies  dis- 
comfited the  philosopher.  On  coming  into  the  city  he 
took  me  into  a  cool  restaurant.  I  had  been  obliged  to 
.  think  in  English,  to  translate  it  into  German,  and  turn 
the  answer  back  into  English.  I  retired  to  my  hotel 
towards  one  in  the  morning,  so  completely  exhausted 
that  it  was  not  till  next  morning  that  I  understood  the 
message  left  me  by  Graf  von  Goltz,  Secretary  to  the 
King,  offering  me  a  seat  in  his  box  in  the  theatre  on 
the  next  Sabbath  evening.  I  hastened  to  explain  to  the 
Count  my  conscientious  convictions  against  theatre-go- 
ing on  the  Sabbath,  and  had  difficulty  in  making  him 
understand  me.  On  that  Sabbath  evening  it  was  said 
there  was  a  masked  ball  in  the  city,  with  an  attendance 
of  thirty  thousand. 

I  also  got  acquainted  with  Hengstenberg,  an  eminent 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       147 

evangelical  divine  at  that  time.  He,  like  most  other 
distinguished  men,  had  an  hour,  a  Stunde,  for  receiving 
visitors.  I  went  at  the  hour,  and  found  him  walking 
up  and  down  his  garden  at  the  rate  of  at  least  four 
miles  an  hour.  I  joined  him,  and  we  talked  of  English 
theology.  He  approved  of  the  Puseyism,  and  high 
churchism  at  that  time  prevalent  in  England,  and  fight- 
ing with  the  rationalism.  I  could  not  agree  with  him, 
as  I  believe  the  Eomanist  tendency  leads  intelligent 
young  men  to  scepticism,  which,  as  its  blankness  is 
discovered,  drives  people  to  high  churchism.  I  found 
Hengstenberg  very  impetuous,  and  we  had  not  much 
pleasant  intercourse. 

The  best  known  physical  philosopher  in  Germany  at 
the  time  was  Alexander  von  Humboldt;  Dr.  Sydow 
introduced  me  to  him.  At  the  time  he  was  living  with 
the  King  at  Potsdam ;  but  in  a  few  days  he  came  into 
town,  and  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  meet  with  him 
at  his  house.  He  received  me  most  graciously,  giving 
me  a  seat  of  honor  while  he  sat  beside  me.  He  was 
rather  a  small  but  handsome  man,  with  not  a  very  large, 
but  decidedly  marked  head.  He  asked  in  what  language 
I  should  wish  him  to  speak,  German,  French,  or  English. 
I  told  him  that  I  would  understand  him  either  in  German 
or  French  if  he  spoke  slowly,  but  would  take  it  as  a  com- 
pliment if  he  spoke  in  English.  Upon  this  he  immedi- 
ately addressed  me  in  my  own  tongue,  with  a  slightly 
German  accent ;  bnt  his  English  flowed  easily  and  grace- 
fully, and  was  thoroughly  correct  grammatically  and 
idiomatically.  The  story  in  Berlin  was  that  he  was 
learning  his  thirtieth  language  to  keep  his  mind  from 
failing.  I  had  sent  a  copy  of  my  work  on  "Typical 


148  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Forms  in  Creation  and  Special  Ends  "  to  him,  and  I  was 
specially  anxious  to  know  what  was  his  opinion  of  my 
theory  of  the  forms  of  plants,  —  that  there  was  a  beautiful 
correspondence  between  the  form  of  the  tree  and  its 
several  branches  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  leaf  and  its 
leaf-stalks  on  the  other.  He  told  me  that  he  had  noticed 
the  correspondence,  but  added  that  he  thought  he  had 
discovered  two  exceptions,  one  a  South  American  plant 
which  I  had  never  seen,  the  other  the  Portugal  laurel. 
I  explained  to  him  how  I  could  reconcile  to  my  view 
certain  forms  which  seemed  to  be  exceptions.  Upon  this 
he  at  once  declared  that  I  had  established  my  point,  and 
added,  "  You  may  say  that  I  think  so  to  any  one."  On 
getting  this  sanction,  I  stopped  giving  so  much  time  to 
my  botanical  observations,  and  turned  towards  psychical 
studies,  which  were  ever  my  favorite  ones. 

After  having  been  with  Humboldt  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  and  gained  my  practical  end,  I  proposed  to  depart ; 
but  he  would  not  allow  me.  He  insisted  on  my  remain- 
ing with  him  some  time  longer.  We  discussed  all  sorts 
of  topics  secular  and  sacred. 

He  passed  on  to  discourse  of  the  injurious  imputations 
which  had  been  cast  on  his  religious  principles  by  certain 
Jesuits,  and  in  doing  so,  spoke  in  terms  of  strong  indig- 
nation of  the  way  in  which  the  great  German  Leibnitz 
had  sought  to  prejudice  the  Electress  of  Brandenburg 
against  the  English  Newton,  because  of  the  supposed 
irreligious  tendencies  of  his  works.  He  branched  off  into 
the  latest  discoveries  in  science ;  showed  me  curious 
natural  objects  which  he  had  picked  up  in  various  parts 
of  the  world  ,  and  he  encouraged  me  to  speak  of  religion 
and  of  the  reconciling  work  of  the  Saviour. 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       149 

Finding  that  I  was  going  to  Heidelberg,  and  that  I 
would  there  see  Bunsen,1  he  sent  through  me  his  warm 
regards  to  him.  "  You  are  going  to  visit  Bunsen,"  he 
said ;  "  you  must  by  all  means  do  so  ; "  and  he  proceeded 
to  speak  of  him  in  the  language  of  the  greatest  admira- 
tion and  affection,  adding,  "  I  do  not  understand  some  of 
his  writings,  but  I  have  formed  the  very  highest  opinion 
of  his  Bibelwerk."  It  is  not  for  one  who  had  so  imper- 
fect an  acquaintance  with  Humboldt  as  I  had  to  attempt 
to  reconcile  what  he  said  to  me  with  harsh  expressions 
about  Bunsen,  scattered  throughout  his  letters  to 
Varnhagen.  Were  his  feelings  toward  Bunsen  softened 
in  his  later  days,  or  was  he  rejoicing  in  the  Bibelwerk 
because  he  saw  that  it  would  further  very  different  ends 
from  those  contemplated  by  Bunsen  ? 

In  speaking  of  the  controversy  going  on  between 
Brewster  and  Whewell  as  to  the  plurality  of  worlds  with 
living  inhabitants,  he  expressed  his  astonishment  that 
Whewell  should  have  taken  up  the  position  so  perversely, 
of  denying  that  the  planets  and  stars  must  be  inhabited. 
He  thought  it  very  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  God 
should  have  left  so  many  material  bodies  uninhabited. 
I  regarded  him  as  here  expressing  unequivocally  his 
belief  in  the  existence  of  the  good  God. 

On  parting  he  held  my  hands  for  several  minutes,  and 
I  pressed  him  strongly  with  the  obligations  and  privi- 
leges of  the  gospel. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  August  4,  that  I 
waited  on  Bunsen  at  his  pleasant  villa,  near  Heidelberg, 
with  a  letter  of  introduction,  with  which  I  had  been 

i  Christian  Karl  Josias,  Chevalier  von  .  .  .  The  distinguished  scholar 
and  diplomatist. 


150  JAMES  MCCOSH 

favored,  from  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  a  special  friend  of 
Bunsen's.  As  I  went  up  to  his  residence,  a  carriage 
passed  out  having  in  it  a  gentleman  of  a  singularly  grave 
and  noble  countenance,  and  I  was  sure  this  must  be 
Bunsen  himself.  Not  finding  him  at  home,  I  left  my 
card  and  introductions,  and  in  the  same  evening  I  had  a 
kind  letter1  from  him,  inviting  me  to  visit  him  next  day, 
and  pressing  me  to  give  him  as  much  of  my  time  as 
possible.  Next  day  I  secured  my  first  interview  with 
him,  and  on  each  successive  day,  to  the  Sunday  following, 
inclusive,  I  waited  on  him  by  appointment,  at  dinner, 
or  for  coffee,  or  for  tea,  and  on  each  occasion  had  length- 
ened conversations  with  him. 

And  what  a  talker !  Interesting  as  many  of  his  writ- 
ings are,  they  are  not  nearly  so  much  so  as  was  his  con- 
versation. The  man  himself  was  an  object  of  the 
highest  interest  to  all  who  could  appreciate  him.  With 
a  head  that  rose  like  a  dome,  he  had  a  heart  from  which 
there  glowed  a  genial  heat  as  from  a  domestic  fire.  He 
talked  of  education  in  Germany  and  in  England,  of  re- 
ligion, of  theology,  of  philosophy,  of  the  state  of  the 

1  CHABLOTTENBTTKG,  5th  Aug.  1858. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Although  I  hope  to  see  you  this  afternoon  at  3  o'clock, 
as  you  kindly  promised  to  my  daughter  yesterday,  I  cannot  wait  so  long 
to  bid  you  a  hearty  welcome  at  Heidelberg  1  I  have  so  long  wished  to 
know  you  personally  (as  the  Duchess  of  Argyll,  our  common  kind  friend, 
knows)  that  I  am  desirous  of  securing  as  much  of  your  time  as  you  can 
bestow  upon  Charlottenburg. 

If  you  make  a  prolonged  stay,  I  will  not  monopolize  you,  but  if  you 
should  remain  here  only  to-day  and  to-morrow,  I  hope  you  will  have  your 
tea  with  us  at  h.  p.  seven  both  days 

The  most  remarkable  establishment  here  is  Bunsen's  great  Laboratory, 
the  greatest,  I  understand,  in  Europe.  You  will  find  in  my  very  learned 
and  acute  (only  a  little  deaf)  cousin  a  man  whose  simplicity  equals  his 

science.  Yours  sincerely, 

BUNSEN. 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA        151 

Romish  and  Protestant  Churches  on  the  Continent,  and 
interspersed  the  grand  theoretical  views  which  he  de- 
lighted to  expound  with  anecdotes  of  kings,  statesmen, 
philosophers,  and  theologians  of  the  highest  name,  with 
whom  he  had  been  intimate.  But  his  noble  enthusiasm 
ever  kindled  into  the  brightest  flame  when  he  spread  out 
before  me  his  own  intended  works,  as  illustrative  of  the 
Bible,  of  philosophy  and  history,  and  as  fitted  to  help  on 
the  education  of  the  race.  I  have  met  with  many  tal- 
ented men,  with  many  good  men,  with  not  a  few  men  of 
genius ;  but  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  holding  confiden- 
tial intercourse  with  only  three  whom  I  reckoned  "  great 
men."  One,  the  greatest,  I  think  —  Dr.  Chalmers  —  ever 
rises  up  before  my  memory  as  a  mountain,  standing  fair, 
and  clear,  and  large.  The  second,  Hugh  Miller,  rises  as 
a  bold,  rocky  promontory,  covered  all  over  with  number- 
less plants  of  wild  exquisite  beauty.  The  third,  Bunsen, 
stretches  out  before  me  wide,  and  lovely,  and  fertile,  — 
like  the  plains  of  Lombardy  which  I  had  just  passed 
through  before  visiting  him. 

I  have  referred  to  the  fondness  with  which  he  dwelt  on 
his  contemplated  publications.  He  was  now,  in  his  retire- 
ment, to  give  to  the  world  the  views  on  all  subjects  — 
historical,  philosophical,  and  theological  —  which  had 
burst  upon  him  in  their  freshness  when  he  spent  so  many 
of  his  youthful  years  in  Rome.  I  confess,  however,  that, 
deeply  interested  as  I  was  in  his  speculations,  —  as  these 
came  forth  with  such  a  warmth  and  radiance  from  his 
own  lips,  —  I  had  all  the  while  an  impression  that  he 
would  require  to  live  to  an  antediluvian  age  in  order  to 
commit  all  his  theories  to  writing,  and  also  a  very  strong 
conviction  that  his  views  belonged  to  the  past  age  rather 


152  JAMES  MCCOSH 

than  to  the  present,  and  that  some  of  them  would  not, 
in  fact,  promote  the  cause  of  religion  which  he  had  so 
much  at  heart.  It  ever  came  out,  that  he  drew  no  dis- 
tinction between  the  natural  and  preternatural.  He  was 
a  firm  believer  in  mesmerism  and  clairvoyance  (in  favor 
of  them  he  mentioned  some  circumstances  which  seemed 
to  me  to  have  no  evidential  value),  and  was  apt  to 
connect  them  with  the  inspiration  of  the  writers  of  the 
Bible.1 

He  talked  in  terms  of  intense  affection  of  Alexander 
von  Humboldt,  with  whom  I  had  had  some  intercourse 
a  short  time  before.  On  my  reporting  to  Bunsen  how 
kindly  Humboldt  had  spoken  of  him,  he  said,  "I  am 
bringing  out  a  certain  portion  of  my  Bibelwerk  before 
other  parts  which  should  come  earlier,  in  order  that  it 
may  fall  under  the  eye  of  Humboldt  ere  he  is  removed 
from  us."  The  way  he  said  this  showed  the  great  love 
he  had  for  Huniboldt ;  and  he  intimated  pretty  plainly 
that  he  hoped  the  part  of  the  Bibelwerk  to  which  he 
referred  might  help  to  draw  Humboldt  towards  deeper 
religious  convictions. 

Whether  any  such  end  was  accomplished,  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing.  I  have  doubts  as  to  whether  the 
means  were  fitted  to  attain  the  object  fondly  desired, 
for  Bunsen  was  already  in  a  very  ambiguous  position 
in  his  own  country.  Eespected  and  beloved  by  all, — 
except  the  enemies  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  —  his 

1  In  Schleiermacher's  letters,  written  in  1817  (Life,  translated  by  F. 
Rowan,  p.  260),  the  writer  says  of  animal  magnetism:  "My  opinion, 
in  regard  to  the  nature  of  these  mental  phenomena,  and  to  their  truth,  ia 
this :  any  distinction  between  the  natural  and  supernatural,  between  the 
comprehensible  and  the  incomprehensible,  I  do  not,  upon  the  whole, 
recognize." 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       153 

speculations,  philosophical  or  theological,  carried,  I  found, 
very  little  weight  in  Germany.  The  great  divines  of  the 
orthodox  school,  while  they  loved  him  for  his  piety,  just 
regretted  the  more  that  in  his  opinions  as  to  the  authen- 
ticity and  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  he  was  adher- 
ing to  views  which  had  been  very  prevalent  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  century,  but  had  been  for  years  abandoned  by 
all  who  had  given  their  attention  to  the  subject.  The 
rationalists,  who,  in  the  days  of  their  strength,  had  hated 
Bunsen  for  his  warm  evangelical  piety,  were  rejoicing, 
now  that  the  tide  was  against  them,  that  they  had  in 
him  an  unconscious  auxiliary  in  their  work  of  under- 
mining the  inspiration  of  the  Bible;  but  they  set  no 
value  whatever  on  his  own  speculations  and  opinions. 
His  venerated  name  is  being  extensively  used  by  the 
rationalists  of  this  country ;  it  is  right  that  they  should 
know  that  he  ever  spoke  of  rationalism  in  terms  of 
strongest  disapprobation  and  aversion,  and  he  wished  it 
to  be  known  everywhere  that  he  identified  himself  with 
the  living  evangelical  piety  of  Britain.  While  Bunsen 
was  able  to  retain  his  piety,  in  spite  of  the  vagueness 
and  wanderings  of  his  speculative  opinions,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  any  young  man,  trained  in  Bunsen's  creed, 
could  ever  rise  to  a  belief  in  the  Saviour. 

What  I  have  now  said  indicates  pretty  clearly  the 
state  of  theological  belief  of  late  years  in  Germany.  The 
rationalists  of  the  two  last  ages,  though  their  immediate 
power  was  restricted  to  their  students  in  the  universities, 
had  yet,  through  them,  as  they  were  scattered  over  the 
country,  spread  a  most  baleful  influence,  resulting  in  a 
general  disregard  of  religion  among  all  classes,  beginning 
with  the  educated,  and  going  down  to  the  lowest.  But 


154  JAMES  MCCOSH 

since  1848,  —  when  the  country  became  alarmed  at  the 
extremes  to  which  infidelity  led,  —  there  has  been  a 
slight  reaction  in  favor  of  orthodox  doctrine  and  evan- 

O 

gelical  sentiments.  This  has  been  specially  felt  by 
students  aiming  at  the  pastoral  office,  who  have  very 
much  abandoned  the  old  rationalistic  and  Hegelian  pro- 
fessors, and  are  crowding  the  class-rooms  of  those  who 
defend  the  inspiration  of  Scripture,  and  the  old  doctrines 
of  salvation  by  the  Cross  of  Christ.  The  great  German 
theologians  of  the  age  now  passing  away,  and  of  the 
present  age,  have,  with  unmatched  erudition  and  pro- 
found speculative  ability,  defended  the  Bible  from  the 
assaults  made  upon  it;  and  as  it  was  from  Germany  we 
got  the  bane,  so  it  is  from  Germany,  or  rather  from  Eng- 
lish writers  who  can  use  the  stores  of  German  learning, 
that  we  must  look  for  the  antidote. 

But  to  return  to  Bunsen.  I  am  able  to  say  —  what  I 
believe  I  can  say  of  no  other  with  whom  I  had  so  much 
intercourse  —  that  we  never  conversed  during  these  five 
days,  for  ten  minutes  at  a  time,  without  his  returning, 
however  far  he  might  be  off,  to  his  Bible  and  his  Saviour, 
as  the  objects  that  were  evidently  the  dearest  to  him. 
Some  of  niy  British  readers  will  be  astonished  when  I 
have  to  add,  that  one  evening  he  told  me  that  he  "  was 
not  sure  about  allowing  that  God  is  a  Being,  and  that  he 
certainly  could  not  admit  that  God  is  a  Person."  The 
question  will  be  asked,  "How  was  it  possible  for  one 
entertaining  such  theoretical  views  to  love  his  God  and 
Saviour,  as  Bunsen  seemed  to  love  them,  supremely?" 
Having  a  considerable  acquaintance  with  the  Hegelian 
philosophy,  and  having  only  a  short  time  before  listened 
to  the  lectures  of  some  of  the  most  devoted  disciples  of 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       155 

that  school,  I  think  I  can  understand  this  inconsistency, 
though  I  would  never  think  of  defending  it.  Bunsen 
had  been  trained  in  the  first  quarter  of  this  century, 
when  Schelling  and  Hegel  (of  whom  he  always  spoke 
with  profound  admiration)  ruled  in  the  universities,  and 
he  had  so  lost  himself  in  ideal  distinctions  and  nomen- 
clature that  his  words  were  not  to  be  interpreted  as  if 
the  same  expressions  had  been  used  by  another  man. 
He  was  forever  talking,  in  Kantian  phraseology,  of  the 
forms  of  space  and  time.  I  labored  to  show  that  there 
were  other  intuitive  convictions  in  the  mind  as  well  as 
those  of  space  and  time,  and,  in  particular,  that  we  all 
had  an  immediate  consciousness  of  ourselves  as  persons, 
and  that  this  conscious  personality,  duly  followed  out, 
raised  our  minds  to  the  contemplation  of  God  as  a  Being 
and  a  Person.  One  evening,  in  his  house,  I  thought  I 
had  shut  him  up  to  a  point,  but  the  conversation  was 
interrupted  by  the  breaking  up  of  the  large  company, 
and  I  had  not  another  opportunity  of  taking  up  the 
subject.1 

The  following  letter  written  to  Mrs.  McCosh  from 
Berlin  is  inserted  here  at  the  risk  of  repetition,  being  as 

1  INVEBAKT,  Sept.  2, 1858. 

DEAR  DR.  McCosn,  —  It  gave  the  Duchess  and  myself  much  pleasure 
to  receive  your  note,  showing  that  you  had  so  fully  appreciated  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  of  our  age.  You  would  probably  not  fail  to  dis- 
cover the  wide  difference  between  Bunsen's  views  on  many  points  and  the 
popular  theology  of  all  the  British  churches.  A  vague  sense  of  the  dif- 
ference has  always  attracted  a  certain  amount  of  jealousy  and  suspicion 
to  him  in  this  country,  but  no  man  can  be  with  him  without  feeling  that 
he  is  —  what  you  describe. 

I  am,  dear  Dr.  McCosh, 

Yours  very  truly, 

ARGYLL. 


156  JAMES  MCCOSH 

it  is  so  interesting  in  itself  and  so  characteristic  of  the 
writer's  keenness  in  observation:  — 

BERLIN,  Thursday,  June  17,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  ISABELLA,  —  Yesterday  I  received  your  letter 
with  Councillor  Gibson's  inclosed,  and  to-day  his  pamphlet 
has  arrived.  I  am  delighted  to  hear  that  the  question  of 
intermediate  education  is  being  kept  alive.  I  could  not 
write  prior  to  the  Board  meeting,  but  will  answer  his 
note  soon. 

I  proceed  to  make  you  acquainted  with  some  other  per- 
sons I  have  met  with  since  I  wrote  you.  I  had  better  finish 
off  the  Divines.  I  called  on  Hengstenberg  at  his  hour 
for  receiving  calls,  four  to  five,  and  found  him  walking 
up  and  down  his  garden  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour, 
and  those  who  wished  to  converse  with  him  were  ex- 
pected to  walk  along  side  of  him.  A  succession  of  young 
men  came  in  and  encompassed  him  on  each  side  and 
behind.  I  found  that  his  son,  who  visited  Ireland  and 
lived  with  Professor  Gibson,  and  was  in  my  house,  was 
here  on  a  visit  from  his  parish  in  a  country  town,  and  I 
conversed  with  him.  In  the  short  conversation  I  had 
with  the  father  he  spoke  against  the  British  members  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance  for  favoring  Bunsen.  I  told  him 
that  in  Britain  Bunsen  was  much  beloved  personally, 
but  that  his  theology  and  philosophy  had  little  influence  ; 
that  Dr.  Hengstenberg  himself  had  greater  influence, 
and  that  his  influence  was  for  good,  inasmuch  as  he 
brought  men  back  to  the  study  of  the  Word.  As  he  has 
a  strong  tendency  to  high  churchism,  I  told  him  that  in 
Oxford  the  younger  men  in  the  natural  recoil  were  be- 
coming naturalists.  He  asked  where  I  lived,  but  neither 
he  nor  his  son  has  returned  my  call. 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       157 

From  Trendelenburg,  the  greatest  logician  here,  I  have 
received  much  kindness.  I  told  you  that  I  heard  him 
lecture.  On  calling  on  him  with  a  letter  from  Thomson 
of  Oxford  he  asked  me  to  his  house,  and  I  went  at  eight 
in  the  evening.  His  wife  is  a  thin,  retiring,  kind  lady. 
She  had  been  a  short  time  in  the  scientific  Mrs.  Somer- 
ville's  family,  and  gave  me  some  anecdotes  of  that  lady, 
all  showing  how  humble  and  Christian  she  is.  There 
were  three  daughters  present,  half  between  girlhood  and 
womanhood,  bashful  and  somewhat  awkward.  A  few 
students  had  been  invited  for  the  same  evening,  and  sat 
on  the  one  side  of  the  table,  and  the  young  ladies  on  the 
other ;  the  latter  cordially  enjoyed  the  scene,  and  looked 
and  whispered  to  one  another  knowingly,  but  scarcely 
ever  took  part  in  the  general  conversation.  As  eatables, 
I  had  first  presented  to  me  sour  curds  with  the  mouldered 
black  bread  of  Germany,  and  sugar  to  mix  with  them. 
I  took  some,  and  found  it  palatable  enough  ;  then  we  had 
weak  tea  in  very  small  cups,  and  the  offer  of  little  slices 
of  ham,  which  I  declined.  Dr.  Trendelenburg  talked  at 
times  to  me,  and  at  times  to  his  students,  and  when  he 
was  occupied  with  the  latter  I  conversed  with  Frau  Pro- 
fessor (be  sure  when  you  come  to  Germany  to  give  people 
their  proper  title).  I  asked  where  she  went  in  the  holi- 
days —  alas  —  the  holidays  of  her  boys  were  in  summer, 
and  of  Dr.  Trendelenburg  in  autumn,  and  he  was  so  busy 
she  seldom  had  any  opportunity  to  leave  town.  I  left  a 
little  after  eleven,  pleased  with  my  evening.  I  came 
home  with  a  law  student.  He  told  me  he  would  have 
to  serve  a  whole  year  as  a  soldier,  and  this  at  his  own 
expense.  All  young  men  must,  between  eighteen  and 
twenty-three  serve  three  years  for  pay  or  one  year  for 


158  JAMES  MCCOSH 

nothing.  He  spoke  of  the  soldiers  as  spreading  immo- 
rality. I  confess  that  they  do  not  appear  to  be  so  im- 
moral as  our  own.  As  we  crossed  the  Unter-den-linden, 
we  saw  great  floods  of  people  coming  home  from  the 
gardens  beyond  the  gates ;  men  and  women,  old  and 
young,  and  certainly  all  were  conducting  themselves 
most  appropriately. 

Lest  you  complain  that  my  friends  are  too  learned,  I 
will  now  introduce  you  to  a  very  different  person.  I  long 
hesitated  whether  to  deliver  Lord  Dufferin's  letter  to  Graf 
von  Goltz,  who  is  Aide-de-camp,  Adjutant-General,  and 
chief  friend  to  the  Prince  of  Prussia,  brother  to  the  king, 
and  now,  in  fact,  sovereign,  as  the  elder  brother's  mind 
seems  hopelessly  gone.  At  last  I  picked  up  courage  and 
presented  myself.  Never  man  got  a  warmer  reception ! 
What  could  he  do  for  me !  He  would  make  his  servant 
go  round  with  me  !  He  would  take  me  to  the  theatre 
and  opera  on  Sabbath !  He  would  introduce  me  to  a 
gentleman  who  had  made  Shakespeare  the  study  of  his  life  ! 
I  was  determined  not  to  go  to  the  theatre ;  determined 
especially  to  keep  the  Sabbath  as  I  keep  it  at  home.  I 
did  not  know  well  what  to  say,  but  I  turned  off  the  con- 
versation to  some  things  I  wanted  to  see.  He  told  me 
he  would  call  on  me,  and  I  bolted  off.  Not  wishing  to  have 
another  talk  about  Sabbath  theatricals,  I  actually  left  my 
hotel  at  the  hour  I  expected  him  to  call.  When  I  came 
in  I  found  he  had  been  here,  and  I  was  congratulating 
myself  upon  my  cleverness  in  avoiding  him.  I  thought 
myself  as  clever  as  the  preacher  in  Greyfriars  who,  when 
he  went  out  of  [anglice,  forgot]  his  sermon  in  the  pulpit, 
pretended  to  faint  and  had  to  be  carried  out  into  the  vestry 
where,  when  all  the  people  had  left  him  except  a  few,  he 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA       159 

opened  his  eyes  and  said, "  Have  I  not  done  this  cleverly  ? " 
But  I  was  premature  in  my  vanity,  for  the  count  left  a 
message  that  he  was  sorry  he  had  missed  me,  that  he  had 
been  summoned  to  Potsdam  to  wait  on  the  Prince,  but 
that  he  had  handed  me  over  to  Dr.  Firmerich,  who  would 
expect  me  "  Nach  Mittag  "  on  Sunday.  Here  I  was  hi  a 
fix,  and  my  first  idea  was  to  write  Dr.  Firmerich,  but  this 
was  formidable,  so  I  put  a  bold  face  on  it,  and  after  being 
at  church  in  the  forenoon,  and  taking  dinner,  I  slipped 
over  to  Dr.  Firmerich's,  and  found  him  a  most  gentle- 
manly and  accomplished  man,  and  his  wife  a  most  de- 
lightful creature.  I  let  them  know  at  once  that  I  had 
not  come  to  Berlin  to  see  plays,  told  them  how  the  Scotch 
people  read  their  Bibles  on  Sabbath.  Like  a  thorough 
gentleman,  he  saw  my  meaning  and  intimated  he  would 
call  on  me  the  next  day.  This  he  did,  and  he  gave  me 
two  hours  of  his  time;  took  me  to  the  office  of  public 
instruction,  one  of  the  great  government  offices ;  intro- 
duced me  to  Dr.  Schultze,  the  acting  minister  of  educa- 
tion, who  told  me  to  use  his  name  and  visit  any  school 
in  Prussia  ;  talked  most  volubly  of  the  system,  to  which  I 
said  "  Ja "  now  and  then,  though  I  did  not  understand 
one-half ;  told  me  where  to  get  documents,  and  promised 
to  answer  any  inquiries  I  might  make  at  any  future  time. 
I  must  call  once  more  on  Dr.  Firmerich,  as  his  lady  lent 
me  a  book. 

After  this  interview  with  the  nobility,  you  must  allow 
me  to  go  back  to  the  scientific  gentlemen.  I  have  been 
a  good  deal  with  Professor  Braun,  the  great  botanist,  a 
kind,  benevolent  old  man.  He  drove  me  on  Saturday 
last  to  the  Botanic  Garden,  where  we  would  have  spent 
a  few  pleasant  hours,  but  we  were  overtaken  with  a 


160  JAMES  MCCOSH 

dreadful  thunderstorm  with  impetuous  rain,  which  drove 
us  home  sooner.  The  Botanic  Garden  has  an  immense 
collection,  but  is  greatly  huddled.  This  afternoon  at 
four  he  took  me  to  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of 
Science,  where  I  saw  the  most  distinguished  scientific 
men  in  Berlin,  such  as  Dove;  the  two  Eoses  (one  of 
them,  the  chemist,  like  Grattan  but  with  a  bigger  head) ; 
Mitscherlich;  a  big-bellied  old  man  ;  Du  Bois  Reymond,  a 
fiery-looking,  rising  physiologist;  Poggendorff;  Encke, 
who  gave  a  name  to  a  comet.  I  did  not  understand  the 
papers  read,  and  had  time  to  look  at  the  men  and  at  a 
bust  of  Leibnitz,  the  founder  of  the  Academy,  and  who 
has  the  fullest  head  I  ever  saw.  Professor  Braun  took 
me  home  with  him  for  an  hour,  and  showed  me  books 
and  papers  of  his  own  and  others,  and  I  am  satisfied 
that  he  anticipated  me  many  years  in  his  discoveries  as 
to  the  spirals  of  cones. 

I  think  I  told  you  that  Sydow  proposed  of  his  own 
accord  to  introduce  me  to  Baron  von  Humboldt,  the  man 
of  greatest  scientific  reputation  now  living.  I  thought 
it  best  to  give  Sydow  a  copy  of  "  Typical  Forms "  to 
present  to  him.  And  here  I  may  as  well  mention  that 
on  the  forenoon  of  Sabbath  last  I  went  to  the  Neue 
Kirche  to  hear  Sydow.  His  audience  could  not  be  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  of  them  two  thirds  were 
females.  He  is  a  very  able  man,  but  his  preaching  was 
not  the  simple  gospel  as  we  understand  it,  and  hence,  I 
suspect,  the  thinness  of  his  audience.  After  the  public 
service  there  was  a  baptism  in  the  vestry  at  which  I  was 
present.  A  good  many  ceremonies  are  added.  Five  men 
and  one  woman  put  their  hands  on  the  feet  of  the  child, 
and  took  an  obligation.  There  was  more  than  one  cross- 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA      161 

ing;  in  particular,  the  water  was  sprinkled  with  three 
crossings  as  the  names  of  the  persons  of  the  Trinity  were 
pronounced.  After  the  baptism  we  returned  to  the 
church,  where  was  a  marriage  before  the  altar ;  it  was 
done  with  rings,  the  minister  blessing  the  couple  as  he 
laid  his  hands  on  them. 

But  to  return  to  Humboldt,  Sydow  told  me  that  the 
old  Baron  had  been  at  Potsdam,  but  that  he  had  ap- 
pointed Tuesday  at  one  to  meet  me.  On  Tuesday  I  was 
at  his  house  at  the  very  hour,  entered  a  large  gateway, 
and  went  up  a  stair  as  in  all  houses  here,  rang  a  belL 
A  servant  appeared,  and  in  a  minute  I  was  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  venerable  old  man.  He  is  a  little  man,  with 
his  chin  leaning  on  his  breast,  but  particularly  lively  in 
his  countenance  and  manner.  He  told  me  that  he  was 
not  strong,  but  strong  enough  to  see  me ;  quite  as  strong 
as  a  man  of  eighty-nine  could  expect  to  be.  "  Typical 
Forms  "  was  on  the  table  ;  he  said  he  had  been  reading  it, 
—  so  he  expressed  himself,  —  not  only  with  pleasure,  but 
with  the  highest  admiration,  and  was  struck  with  the 
large  knowledge  displayed  in  it,  not  only  of  what  had 
been  done  in  England  but  on  the  Continent.  I  told  him 
I  followed  the  inductive  method,  building  my  views  on 
facts.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "  but  there  are  fine  generaliza- 
tions. .  .  .  You  are  associated  with  another  in  the  work," 
he  said.  "Yes,"  I  said,  "my  colleague,  Dr.  Dickie,  who 
has  large  scientific  knowledge."  "  This  is  wise,"  said  he, 
"  for  some  of  our  German  philosophers  have  committed 
great  blunders  from  theorizing  without  knowing  the 
facts."  He  agreed  that  there  was  a  general  conformity 
between  venation  and  ramification,  but  doubted  whether 
it  held  in  every  case,  and  instanced  certain  laurels. 

11 


162  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Often  had  I  measured  the  laurels,  and  told  him  so,  and 
was  on  the  point  of  disputing  with  him  when  I  thought 
it  better  to  stop.  The  conversation  flowed  on  —  Where 
was  I  going  ?  To  the  Rhine  ?  I  would  see  Bunsen,  and  he 
spoke  of  Bunsen.  He  liked  the  first  volume  so  far  of  his 
great  work,  but  did  not  fully  understand  the  second,  but 
was  deeply  interested  in  his  new  work,  the  translation  of 
the  Bible.  He  took  great  pains  to  show  me  he  was  no 
materialist ;  he  thought  materialism  unphilosophicaL  He 
had  been  charged  by  the  Jesuits  with  being  a  materialist, 
but  it  was  wrong  to  bring  such  charges ;  even  Leibnitz  had 
traduced  the  great  Newton  to  the  Electress  of  Brandenburg. 
He  talked  of  Whewell,  and  the  plurality  of  worlds ;  thought 
it  most  accordant  with  his  view  of  God's  character  that 
the  worlds  were  inhabited,  and  might  have  many  common 
bonds  of  union.  I  added  they  might  have  all  some  con- 
nection with  the  work  of  Christ.  He  spoke  with  fervor 
of  the  late  discoveries  as  to  the  sun  being  the  source  of 
so  much  influence.  He  would  have  spoken  much  longer, 
but  I  thought  it  wrong  to  trouble  him  more,  and  rose. 
He  held  my  hand  in  his,  "  But  I  hope  you  are  not  dis- 
satisfied with  my  religious  views ! "  I  told  him  I  was 
pleased  to  find  him  this  very  day  speaking  of  God,  and  I 
hoped  also  of  Christ  as  connected  with  His  works.  I 
parted  with  him,  but  he  followed  me  through  the  ante- 
rooms, and  pointed  me  out  curious  things  found  in  his 
wide  travels.  "  You  must  call  on  Ehrenberg,  and  speak 
of  your  views,  and  say  that  Alexander  von  Humboldt 
sent  you."  He  shook  hands  a  second  time  at  the  door, 
and  I  found  that  I  had  enjoyed  one-half  hour  of  continu- 
ous talk  from  this  eloquent  old  man. 

But  you  will  be  complaining  that  I  am  getting  scien- 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA      163 

tific  again.  So  I  will  conduct  you  to  a  very  different 
scene,  Mr.  Solly,  Lecturer  on  English  Literature  in  the 
University,  had  asked  me  to  go  with  him  of  an  evening 
to  a  garden  concert.  I  went  at  six  to  his  house,  and  we 
walked,  only  a  mile,  into  the  Thiergarten.  Then  we 
entered  the  Concert  Garden.  The  entrance  cost  us  five 
pence  each.  ...  I  did  not  see  a  person,  male  or  female, 
misbehave.  It  was  a  most  pleasant  German  scene.  .  .  . 

Dr.  McCosh  returned  from  Germany  in  September, 
1858.  For  eight  years  he  led  the  regular,  laborious  life 
of  his  profession,  and  then  desiring  a  thorough  change 
he  sailed  for  America.  Throughout  the  war  of  the 
Eebellion  he  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Union.  His 
books  had  an  extensive  sale  in  the  United  States, 
and  he  was  desirous  of  correcting  by  observation  the 
many  impressions  he  had  derived  from  his  extensive 
reading.  His  journey  included  the  cities  of  New  York, 
New  Haven,  Boston,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  Baltimore, 
Washington,  and  Philadelphia.  Besides  he  visited  Har- 
vard, Yale,  Princeton  and  many  other  institutions  of 
learning.  He  has  left  only  the  following  paragraphs 
as  a  record  of  this  journey : 

I  had  conducted  large  classes  through  Logic  and  Meta- 
physics in  Queen's  College ;  I  had  written  and  published 
my  examination  of  Mr.  John  S.  Mill's  "  Empirical  Phil- 
osophy ; "  I  was  wearied,  and  I  put  my  feet  into  a  ship  to 
take  me  to  America.  I  travelled  some  thousands  of  miles 
in  that  country,  and  visited  some  of  the  most  important 
colleges  and  theological  seminaries.  But  I  am  not  to 
describe  the  scenes  I  looked  on,  —  they  are  all  known ; 


164  JAMES  MCCOSH 

nor  the  persons  I  met  with,  and  from  whom  I  received 
kindness,  such  as  the  Eev.  Dr.  Adams,  the  Eev.  Henry  B. 
Smith,  the  Hodges,  Mr.  Carter  the  publisher,  and  others, 
all  of  whom  have  been  described  by  others  better  than  I 
could  do  it.  I  made,  at  the  time,  however,  one  or  two 
general  observations  which  may  be  of  some  value  as 
coming  from  an  impartial  stranger. 

The  first  is  that  on  attending  the  churches  of  various 
denominations,  especially  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  and 
Congregational,  I  was  ever  constrained  to  ask,  "But 
where  are  the  laboring  classes  ? "  No  doubt  they  were 
in  many  cases  concealed  by  the  circumstance  that  they 
often  dressed  as  well  as  the  classes  above  them  in  the 
social  circle ;  but  it  is  certain  that  as  a  rule  the  working- 
classes  do  not  join  s6  heartily  as  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  with  the  middle  and  upper  classes  in  public 
worship.  I  am  afraid  there  is  a  greater  separation  of 
classes  in  the  new  and  democratic  than  in  the  old  and 
aristocratic  countries.  Though  I  have  abandoned  State 
Churches,  yet  I  believe  they  tend  to  bring  the  rich  and 
the  poor  classes  together.  In  Brechin,  Lord  Pan  mure, 
with  seventy  thousand  acres  of  arable  land,  including 
whole  parishes  of  hill  land,  sat  on  the  opposite  side  of  a 
church  passage,  and  could  have  shaken  hands  with  a 
weaver  earning  two  dollars  a  week.  The  Americans  will 
need  to  learn  a  lesson  from  the  history  of  the  Church 
from  early  times,  and  mix  somewhat  of  the  territorial 
with  the  congregational  system. 

Another  observation  made  by  me  was  that  the  colleges, 
while  they  had  not  the  prestige  nor  the  consolidation 
of  the  European  ones  in  such  departments  as  classics 
and  mathematics,  had  nevertheless  a  better  capacity  for 


TRAVELS  IN  GERMANY  AND  AMERICA      165 

development  in  a  variety  of  ways.  It  was  long  before 
European  colleges  would  admit  the  modern  languages, 
and  the  later  sciences,  such  as  geology  and  palaeontology, 
into  their  academic  curriculum;  whereas  those  branches 
were  admitted  at  once  into  the  American  colleges. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PHILOSOPHY  AND   TEACHING 

HTHE  indefatigable  assiduity  of  Dr.  McCosh's  daily  life 
as  a  teacher,  philanthropist,  preacher,  and  public 
agitator,  was  simply  the  reflection  of  an  intellectual 
activity  so  restless  that  sluggish  minds  can  scarcely 
grasp  it.  Or  rather,  it  was  the  complement  of  a  rest- 
less thinking,  both  constructive  and  critical,  which  soon 
found  expression  in  a  third  important  work.  In  1860 
appeared  "The  Intuitions  of  the  Mind,  Inductively  Con- 
sidered," a  volume  of  marked  originality  and  vigor, 
which  contains  the  author's  systematic  philosophy  as 
he  had  finally  developed  it.  The  great  truths  of  which 
he  was  for  nearly  thirty  years  to  be  the  champion  are 
all  clearly  stated  in  it.  With  natural  affiliations  to  Reid 
and  the  Scottish  school,  he  had  been  a  pupil  of  Hamilton 
and  a  diligent  student  of  Kant.  Hegel  he  never  under- 
stood, and  the  Idealists  he  underestimated.  From  Ham- 
ilton he  accepted  the  philosophy  of  consciousness  and 
the  chief  elements  of  his  psychology,  but,  in  opposition  to 
the  negative  Hamiltonian  metaphysic,  he  reasserted  the 
positive  principles  of  the  Scottish  school  as  represented 
by  Reid.  He  was  vastly  superior  to  Reid  in  scholarship, 
his  reasoning  being  more  comprehensive  and  more  con- 
vincing, the  apprehension  of  his  task  clearer,  and  the 
mastery  of  his  materials  more  complete.  What  he  took 


From  a  portrait  bust  by  Bailey,  presented  in   1883 
Princeton  College  by  the  Class  of  1873 


to 


CHAPTER  XI 

PHILOSOPHY   AND   TEACHING 

HPHE  indefatigable  assiduity  of  Dr.  McCosh's  daily  life 

as  a  teacher,  philanthropist,  preacher,  and  public 

sr.   wm*  rim  ply   the  reflection   of    an   intellectual 

-wi*.«*    ;k**    *j«gu'"*V'.   minds   can   scarcely 


ib  \  -  K    i$m 

>n- 
. 

which   coi»t»m»   !:»*•>    •«--: 

he  had  fioaliy  •h'.o,--?*-*;  <t  l*tr  t'?v«ti  truvt^  «rf  vhich 
he  was  for  nearly  thirty  year*  to  be  the  champion  are 
all  clearly  stated  in  it.  With  natural  affiliations  to  Reid 
and  the  Scottish  school,  he  had  been  a  pupil  of  Hamilton 
and  a  diligent  student  of  Kant.  Hegel  he  never  under- 
stood, and  the  Idealists  he  underestimated.  From  Ham- 
ilton he  accepted  the  philosophy  of  consciousness  and 
the  chief  elements  of  his  psychology,  but,  in  opposition  to 
the  negative  Hamiltonian  metaphysic,  he  reasserted  the 
positive  principles  of  the  Scottish  school  as  represented 
by  Reid.  He  was  vastly  superior  to  Reid  in  scholarship, 
his  reasoning  being  more  comprehensive  and  more  con* 
vincing,  the  apprehension  of  his  task  clearer,  anO  te 
mastery  v^fryi  «fca|rtMfo^  ^VjaS;!^tAzM<\V\im\\o^  ft  wov\ 
\o 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  167 

from  Reid  lie  appropriated  more  completely  than  Reid 
himself  had  done.  Mansel  recognized  the  "  high  merit " 
of  the  "Intuitions"  immediately.  John  Cairns  of  Ber- 
wick thought  it  "  original  in  not  a  few  things,"  especially 
in  the  discussion  of  the  relation  between  knowledge  and 
faith,  and  in  its  "unwinding  of  recent  Kantian  threads 
off  the  old  spindle  of  Scottish  realistic  philosophy." 
Trendelenburg  in  Berlin,  received  it,  strangely  enough,  as 
the  work  of  a  kindred  spirit,  and  the  Duke  of  Argyll 
called  it  a  "strong  book,"  strong  especially  in  its  de- 
fence of  intuitional  beliefs,  much  needed  in  days  when 
"Manselian  paradoxes  passed  current  for  very  profound 
logic  and  metaphysics." 

Dr.  McCosh's  training  and  experience  had  confirmed 
his  conviction  that  the  human  mind  had  not  been  left 
to  wander  darkly,  but  that  in  its  constitution  were  cer- 
tain fundamental  principles  which,  though  not  directly 
known,  were  a  sufficient  guide  to  truth  both  in  cognition 
and  in  judgment.  These  ultimate  principles  cannot  be 
reduced  to  lower  terms,  and  it  was  the  aim  of  the  "  In- 
tuitions," for  thus  they  were  designated,  to  discover 
and  formulate  them.  On  primitive  cognitions,  as  of 
body  and  mind ;  primitive  beliefs,  as  of  time,  space, 
and  the  infinite;  primitive  judgments,  which  comprise 
the  relations  of  identity  and  difference,  whole  and  part, 
resemblance,  active  property,  cause  and  effect,  —  on  this 
foundation  rest  all  the  common  truths  of  sound  philoso- 
phy and  vital  religion.  They  are,  in  fact,  generalizations 
of  individual  experience,  but  are  not  derived  from  it; 
although  their  final,  special  tests  are  not  empirical  alone, 
being,  namely,  self-evidence,  catholicity,  and  necessity, 
yet  nevertheless  one  test  of  their  reliability  is  experience, 


168  JAMES  MCCOSH 

and  the  system  which  expounded  them  was  thirsty  for 
the  results  of  investigation.  A  philosophy  thus  com- 
prising the  sciences  not  alone  of  being,  but  likewise  of 
knowing,  must  be  hospitable  to  new  ideas.  Professor 
Ormond,  who  knew  and  understood  his  great  teacher 
better  than  any  other,  has  said  of  him:  "A  devout 
Theist,  he  yet  welcomed  evolution,  in  which  he  saw 
an  unfolding  of  the  divine  plan;  an  ardent  intuitionist, 
he  planted  himself  solidly  upon  experience,  believing 
that  when  the  voice  of  experience  is  adequately  inter- 
preted it  will  supply  the  best  testimony  to  the  intuitional 
springs  out  of  which  it  emerges;  an  unflinching  foe  of 
materialism  in  all  its  forms,  he  was  yet  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  America  in  recognizing  the  dependence  of 
mind  on  body,  and  in  welcoming  the  new  science  of 
physiological  psychology,  having  an  abiding  faith  that 
the  most  searching  investigation  in  this  field  would  only 
render  more  clear  the  impossibility  of  reducing  mind  to 
any  materialistic  formula."  Dr.  McCosh's  final  stand, 
expounded  in  1860,  and  defended  to  the  end,  was  made 
on  the  doctrine  of  the  immediate  knowledge  of  reality. 
This  he  debated  incessantly,  and  with  antagonists  from  all 
schools,  —  Hamilton,  Mill,  Mansel,  Spencer,  and  Mahaffy. 
It  was  impossible,  he  felt,  to  accept  the  relativity  of  knowl- 
edge, and  construct  a  sound  philosophy  of  life,  to  accept 
evolutionary  empiricism  on  the  one  hand,  or  idealism  in 
any  form  on  the  other,  and  avoid  drifting  into  agnosticism. 
Dr.  McCosh  was  original  in  the  use  he  made  of  the 
intuitions ;  he  was  original  in  his  enforcement  of  realism 
as  both  the  alpha  and  the  omega,  the  source  and  the  end, 
of  speculation ;  he  was  original  in  the  place  he  made  for 
experimental  psychology  ;  he  was  original  among  his 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  169 

contemporaries  in  his  view  that  philosophy  and  religion 
are  not  merely  ancillary  the  first  to  the  second,  but  that 
they  are  chapters  of  the  same  hook ;  he  was  original  in 
the  treatment  of  evolution,  which  enabled  him  to  wrest 
it  from  the  hands  of  atheism  and  irreligion.  There  is 
nothing  new  under  the  sun,  the  idea  is  his  who  uses  it 
best,  originality  is  the  combination  of  known  elements 
into  new  compounds  for  present  use.  In  this  sense  Dr. 
McCosh  was  a  truly  original  thinker. 

Dr.  McCosh's  reputation  as  a  constructive  thinker  will 
always  rest  on  the  "  Intuitions,"  and  it  may  well  do  so. 
The  book  is  throughout  well  considered,  well  constructed, 
and  well  written.  The  style  is  almost  a  model  of  what  a 
philosophic  style  should  be, — lucid,  adequate,  and  reada- 
ble. Throughout  there  is  a  marked  independence  and 
vigorous  personality  behind  what  is  stated,  and  this  gives 
a  certain  fascination  to  the  argument  which  is  almost 
irresistible.  The  reader  has  not  the  slightest  sense  of  com- 
plexity or  intricacy  in  the  steady  flow  of  the  discussion. 
So  taking  is  the  language  and  treatment  that,  in  the  first 
perusal,  uncommon  usages  of  terms  and  a  bold  disregard 
of  time-worn  distinctions  passes  unnoticed.  This  may  be 
well  illustrated  in  the  use  of  the  word  induction  for  the 
process  of  extricating  the  self-evident  universal  out  of  the 
self-evident  singular,  the  derivation  of  general  truths  or 
intuitions  from  the  individual  mind,  —  a  process  not  in  the 
least  related  to  that  indicated  by  the  same  word  when  ap- 
plied either  to  physical  science  or  the  experimental  investi- 
gation of  the  mind.  There  is  also  a  certain  surplusage  of 
subdivision,  which  detracts  from  the  unity  of  the  discus- 
sion. These  faults  were  pointed  out  when  the  book 
appeared,  and  they  are  all  that  can  be  pointed  out.  The 


170  JAMES  MCCOSH 

treatment  of  a  profound  and  difficult  subject  is  not  vitiated 
by  them  in  the  slightest  degree. 

But  it  has  not  generally  been  considered  that  the 
"  Intuitions  "  was  its  author's  greatest  work,  the  palm  of 
merit  being  awarded  by  those  who  knew  him  most  sym- 
pathetically to  the  volume  entitled:  "An  Examination 
of  Mr.  J.  S.  Mill's  Philosophy,  being  a  Defence  of  Funda- 
mental Truth,"  which  appeared  in  1866.  The  title  exactly 
designates  the  contents,  which  are  searching  criticisms 
of  Mill's  entire  philosophy.  The  circumstances  which 
gave  rise  to  this  controversial  book  were  these.  Hamil- 
ton died  in  1856,  leaving  the  most  of  his  mature  think- 
ing in  fragmentary  notes  un collected  and  unpublished,  or 
else  in  the  form  of  lectures.  In  1858  his  lectures  on 
metaphysics  were  published,  as  a  posthumous  work,  and 
in  the  Bampton  lectures  for  the  same  year  "  On  the  Limits 
of  Eeligious  Thought "  Mansel  applied  the  metaphysical 
agnosticism  set  forth  in  Hamilton's  system  to  Christian 
dogmatics.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  and  other  theologians  of 
less  note,  attacked  the  doctrine  thus  expounded,  and  there 
was  wide-spread  uneasiness  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
as  to  the  influence  of  both  Hamilton  and  Mansel,  not 
merely  among  the  Protestants,  but  among  the  Eoman 
Catholics  as  well.  Finally,  in  1865,  Mill  published  his 
"  Examination  of  Sir  W.  Hamilton's  philosophy,"  attack- 
ing it  in  every  point  except  the  condemnation  of  German 
transcendentalism,  which  Mill  approved.  Early  in  the 
following  year  Mansel  published  two  articles  in  the 
"Contemporary  Review,"  defending  Hamilton,  touching 
upon  the  philosophy  of  the  conditioned,  on  the  relativity 
of  knowledge,  on  causation,  and  on  the  doctrine  of  imme- 
diate perception.  Mansel,  like  Hamilton,  had  drawn 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  171 

chiefly  from  Aristotle,  from  Kant,  and  from  Reid.  The 
reality  of  knowledge  was  the  gist  of  the  whole  discussion, 
since  Eeid's  was  essentially  a  philosophy  of  perception. 
Mill  had  planted  himself  on  the  assertion  that  sensa- 
tion is  the  antecedent  condition  of  matter,  just  as  feeling 
is  the  antecedent  condition  of  mind,  thus  reducing  both 
to  a  sensational  origin.  The  late  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith, 
of  Union  Seminary,  Dr.  Ward,  an  Irish  Roman  Catho- 
lic, Professor  Masson,  of  Edinburgh,  and  Dr.  McCosh, 
all  took  up  their  pens  to  enter  the  lists  of  debate  with 
Mill.  The  latter  was  the  most  forcible,  as  he  was  the 
most  elaborate  in  his  treatment  of  Mill's  fallacies.  Car- 
penter, the  eminent  London  physiologist,  wrote  at  once 
that  he  was  in  sympathy  with  McCosh's  views  as  to  the 
existence  of  original  mental  properties,  or  tendencies  to 
thoughts  in  certain  directions,  whether  called  Intuitions  or 
anything  else ;  Mansel,  though  vexed  at  what  he  thought 
was  an  avoidable  divergence  in  application  between 
McCosh's  philosophy  and  his  own,  gave  the  volume  high 
praise ;  and  the  Duke  of  Argyll  thought  it  "  clear,  cogent, 
and  true."  President  Patton  has  admirably  characterized 
the  book  as  displaying  the  author  at  his  best :  "  his  sub- 
tlety, his  grip  upon  the  point  in  question,  his  power  of 
statement,  his  wit,  and  his  clear,  straight-forward  style, — 
all  these  with  the  manner  of  one  who  is  not  giving  an 
exhibition  of  sword-play,  but  of  one  who  fights  for  life, 
and  with  a  foeman  worthy  of  his  steel,  are  apparent  in  the 
'Defence  of  Fundamental  Truth,'  I  cannot  but  believe,  as 
in  nothing  else  that  ever  came  from  Dr.  McCosh's  pen." 
The  book  was  also  attractive  because  of  its  fairness. 
While  defending  his  system  as  a  whole,  it  denounced 
Hamilton's  views  as  to  the  relativity  of  knowledge,  and 


172  JAMES  MCCOSH 

criticised  his  theory  of  causation.  As  to  the  question 
of  immediate  knowledge,  it  was  unflinching,  and  unspar- 
ingly condemned  Mill  for  conceiving  that  from  sensation 
we  could  get  ideas  of  relation. 

It  agrees  partially  with  Mill  in  his  theory  of  objective 
causation,  that  is,  causation  in  nature ;  hut  it  differs  en- 
tirely on  the  question  of  the  causal  judgment,  McCosh 
regarding  this  as  an  intuition,  Mill  deriving  it  wholly 
from  experience. 

In  addition  to  the  substantial  books  already  mentioned, 
Dr.  McCosh  published  a  fourth  during  the  years  of  his 
Belfast  professorship ;  namely,  "  The  Supernatural  in 
Eelation  to  the  Natural,"  which  appeared  in  1862. 
Though  not  so  widely  read  as  the  others,  it  contained 
matter  of  importance  concerning  the  relations  of  phil- 
osophy and  religion,  passing  through  two  editions.  The 
enormous  influence  of  Dr.  McCosh  may  be  seen  in  the 
circulation  of  his  works,  —  "  The  Method  of  the  Divine 
Government "  has  run  through  eight  editions ;  "  The 
Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in  Creation  "  through 
seven ;  "  The  Intuitions  of  the  Mind  "  through  five,  and 
the  "  Defence  of  Fundamental  Truth  "  through  six.  This 
is  a  very  remarkable  record  of  production,  especially  if 
we  add  to  it  the  two  volumes  of  collected  "  Philosophical 
Papers,"  published  in  1868,  which  contain  "An  Examina- 
tion of  Sir  William  Hamilton's  Logic,  a  Reply  to  Mr. 
Mill's  Third  Edition,  and  The  Present  State  of  Moral  Phi- 
losophy in  Britain."  But  a  consideration  of  the  output, 
amazing  as  it  is,  will  give  no  just  idea  of  the  extent  to 
which  Dr.  McCosh's  writings  were  read.  At  a  time 
when  the  associational  psychology  of  the  Mills  and  Bain, 
and  the  agnosticism  of  Spencer  were  capturing  the 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  173 

minds  of  thinkers  in  about  equal  measure,  the  clergy  of 
the  evangelical  churches  and  the  thinking  laymen  of 
evangelical  faith  greatly  needed  leaders  of  unclouded 
intellect  and  spiritual  force.  One  of  these  they  found  in 
Dr.  McCosh.  His  books  were  part  of  the  apparatus  to  be 
found  in  every  divinity  school,  and  on  the  shelves  of 
many  working  ministers.  They  were  literally  read 
around  the  world,  for  they  had  a  great  circulation  in 
India,  and  the  important  ones  were  translated  into 
Chinese  by  kthe  missionaries.  Certainly,  as  far  as  the 
Presbyterian  family  of  churches  was  concerned,  he  was 
the  foremost  man  in  the  field  of  religious  and  secular 
philosophy ;  but  his  catholic  and  liberal  spirit  made  him 
prominent  in  the  thought  of  other  Protestant  churches 
as  well. 

Among  the  last  things  Dr.  McCosh  wrote,  in  extreme 
old  age,  was  a  short  confession  of  his  faith,  —  first,  that 
by  the  senses  external  and  internal  we  discover  and 
know  real  objects  immediately,  and  not  by  any  inter- 
mediate process ;  second,  that  by  the  induction  of  facts 
we  rise  to  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature  and 
of  mind,  of  the  more  obvious  ones,  such  as  the  length 
of  the  day  and  year,  or  the  more  recondite  ones,  such  as 
gravitation  and  chemical  properties;  that  this  realistic 
view,  as  the  true  one,  is  the  one  most  favorable  to  religion, 
which  proceeds  on  facts,  and  not  phenomena,  in  the 
sense  of  appearances.  Dr.  McCosh  was  unwilling  to  be 
ranked  as  an  Augustinian,  or  as  a  Calvinist.  This  was 
due  to  an  unwillingness  to  call  any  mere  man  his 
master,  and  a  sense  that  with  the  capacity  for  religious 
thought  he  had  the  responsibility  for  his  own  opinions. 
Augustine  he  admired  as  a  profound  thinker,  ranking 


174  JAMES  MCCOSH 

him  with  Plato  and  Aristotle ;  but  "  his  superstitions  so 
weighed  him  down  that  they  degraded  the  grandeur  of 
Christianity,  and  rendered  him  obsolete."  Calvin  he  esti- 
mated as  less  original  but  more  judicial.  "  He  might  be  the 
Lord  Chancellor  of  the  nations,"  were  the  words  used.  "  He 
is  one  of  the  most  judicious  expounders  of  Scripture  that 
ever  lived.  He  should  be  consulted  whenever  there  is  a 
difficult  passage  to  be  interpreted.  He  is  not  afraid  to 
make  admissions  which  the  timid  fear  to  make.  He  sees 
no  inconsistencies  in  passages  of  Scripture  which  some 
regard  as  contradictory,  believing  that  there  may  be 
some  means  of  reconciling  them.  His  interpretations  are 
commonly  characterized  by  clearness  and  good  sense, 
par  excellence;  but  sometimes,  perhaps,  he  pursues  his 
logic  too  far,  drawing  consequences  which  may  not 
follow,  if  we  saw  the  whole  deep  and  complicated  case 
as  it  is  known  to  God.  It  is  admitted  that  he  was  often 
harsh  in  his  temper  and  in  his  expressions,  and  drove 
away  men  from  Christ  when  he  should  have  drawn  them 
towards  him.  There  are  many  sensitive  minds  which 
should  be  brought  to  a  loving  Saviour  rather  than  to  Cal- 
vin, though  it  might  be  advantageous  to  bring  that  same 
mind  in  connection  with  the  grand  Genevan  reformer." 

One  who  could  write  and  talk  thus  at  the  hearth-stone 
of  Calvinism  must  be  admitted  to  have  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  and  the  fearlessness  of  a  born 
leader.  This  quality  was  displayed  in  his  persistent 
assertion  that  a  realistic  philosophy  was  the  only  basis 
for  true  religion,  which  in  his  view  proceeds  on  facts, 
and  not  on  phenomena,  in  the  sense  of  appearances. 
Quoting  Eomans  i.  20 :  "  For  the  invisible  things  of  God 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  175 

understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal 
power  and  godhead,"  he  declared,  with  the  fine  certainty 
of  a  prophet,  that  both  "  the  invisible  things  of  God  "  and 
the  "  things  that  are  made  "  are  facts,  and  not  mere  phe- 
nomena. Passages  like  "  Eejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice, 
and  weep  with  them  that  weep,"  carry  with  them  our 
conviction  and  our  confidence,  because  they  refer  to  facts, 
and  not  to  vague  appearances.  On  the  last  occasion 
when  he  addressed  the  Princeton  students,  and  while 
reading  from  the  pulpit  to  a  vast  audience  of  young 
men  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  he 
uttered  with  great  impressiveness  the  ninth  verse,  "  For 
we  know  in  part  and  we  prophesy  in  part,"  then  pausing 
he  thundered  forth,  "  Yes,  gentlemen,  but  we  know."  His 
explanation  of  German  theological  aberration  was  that 
the  German  thinkers  had  all  been  led  by  Kant  to  regard 
what  we  discern  as  phenomena,  and  that  in  consequence 
they  had  by  analogy  come  to  regard  what  is  revealed  in 
Scripture  as  phenomena  also,  that  is,  as  appearances. 
"  The  view  which  they  take  is  in  consequence  flexible 
and  insecure,  first  in  their  philosophy,  and  then  in  their 
theology  as  swayed  by  their  philosophy.  These  views, 
fermenting  in  Germany,  come  over  into  Great  Britain 
and  America,  and  trouble  our  theology  and  our  students." 
The  further  volumes  of  prime  importance  which  came 
from  Dr.  McCosh's  pen  were  his  "Logic,"  published  in 
1870,  "Christianity  and  Positivism,"  published  in  1871, 
"The  Scottish  Philosophy,"  1874,  "The  Development 
Hypothesis,"  1876,  "  The  Emotions"  and  the  complemen- 
tary volumes  of  his  Psychology,  appearing  at  intervals 
between  1880  and  1887,  "The  Conflicts  of  the  Age," 
1881,  "The  Philosophical  Series,"  published  in  parts 


176  JAMES  MCCOSH 

from  1882  to  1885,  and  reprinted  in  1887,  "The  Religi- 
ous Aspect  of  Evolution,"  1887,  "  Gospel  Sermons,"  1888, 
and  lastly  "  First  and  Fundamental  Truths,  Being  a 
Treatise  on  Metaphysics,"  1889.  His  other  pamphlets 
and  papers  are  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  except  in 
an  extended  bibliography.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  charac- 
terize this  voluminous  literary  and  philosophical  pro- 
duction. In  the  first  place,  everything  the  author 
wrote  during  his  long  life  was  timely.  It  was  a  keen 
vision  with  which  he  scrutinized  the  world  of  facts  and 
ideas,  marking  every  tendency,  and  estimating  its  force 
with  sound  judgment.  Wherever  a  word  in  season 
could  be  spoken,  wherever  experience  or  theory,  as  he 
knew  life,  could  be  made  to  tell,  whether  in  book, 
pamphlet,  or  in  the  secular  and  religious  press,  there 
Dr.  McCosh  was  sure  to  be  found  with  suggestion  or 
admonition.  Touching  the  thought  of  his  time  at  its 
salient  points  and  with  tremendous  vitality,  he  con- 
stantly insisted  on  the  few  central  truths  of  his  system 
in  their  application  to  each  new  question  as  it  arose. 
Incisive,  intense,  and  real,  or  rather  concrete  in  his 
thinking,  he  felt  a  loyalty  to  truth  which  he  sought  to 
instil  with  all  his  might  into  the  minds  of  others. 
Every  one  who  aspires  to  be  a  leader  of  thought  must  be 
judged  in  two  ways,  —  as  to  the  influence  he  exerted  on 
his  contemporaries,  and  as  to  the  lasting  effect  of  his 
work  among  his  successors.  We  are  too  close  to  Dr. 
McCosh  for  any  final  judgment  as  to  the  perspective  in 
which  he  will  be  seen ;  but  perhaps  we  may  get  a 
glimpse  of  what  it  is  to  be  when  we  recall  that  Edin- 
burgh, after  a  cycle  of  antipodal  currents  swirling  around 
Hegel  and  Spencer  respectively,  has  in  her  most  important 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  177 

philosophical  chair  a  distinguished  professor,  Seth,  who  is 
appreciative  of  the  old  Scottish  philosophy,  and  that  Apri- 
orism  has  secured  its  innings  among  English  philosophers 
with  its  defence  by  Green  in  his  introduction  to  Hume. 

But  the  men  of  learning  who  controlled  the  middle 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  have  frankly  recorded 
their  views  of  McCosh's  power.  Dorner,  the  great  Berlin 
theologian,  reviewed  "  The  Scottish  Philosophy,"  in  glow- 
ing terms,  and  Zeller,  the  equally  great  Berlin  phil- 
osopher, said  that  nowhere  else  could  be  found  an 
account  of  "a  not  unimportant  branch  of  the  newer 
philosophy  in  such  extension,  and  with  so  careful  an 
elaboration  of  all  details.  The  clear  and  able  exposition 
of  the  author  made  on  me,"  he  continues,  '•'  the  impression 
of  great  reliability  even  where  I  could  not  judge  of  his 
sources  from  personal  knowledge."  Throughout  the 
English-speaking  world  it  was  received  with  equal 
warmth.  Ulrici  said  of  the  "  Logic "  that  it  was  the 
best  text-book  on  the.  subject  in  the  English  language ; 
Francis  Bo  wen,  of  Harvard,  said  that  it  had  "  a  distinc- 
tive and  independent  character."  The  successive  volumes 
of  the  "  Psychology  "  were  hailed  in  many  quarters  with 
such  delight  as  perplexed  men  display  on  the  appear- 
ance of  a  trusted  guide.  The  "  Indian  "Witness  "  hoped 
the  system  would  be  "  introduced  into  every  Government, 
missionary,  and  private  college  in  the  land,"  a  wish  which 
was  in  large  measure  gratified.  An  Italian  reviewer  of 
the  first  importance,  Professor  Ferri  I  believe,  declared 
that  no  other  philosopher  had  so  completely  examined 
the  emotions,  and  that  the  portion  devoted  to  aesthetics 
was  the  most  complete  and  broad  ever  written  on  the 
subject.  Kibot's  Revue  Philosophique  signalized  the  chap- 

12 


178  JAMES  MCCOSH 

ter  on  the  association  of  the  Emotions  and  Speech  as 
particularly  instructive.  Professor  Lassen,  President  of 
the  Philosophical  Society  of  Berlin,  thought  the  "  Psychol- 
ogy "  especially  interesting,  as  seeking  to  construct  a 
positive  mental  science  without  the  errors  of  the  positiv- 
istic  school.  Concerning  the  "  Metaphysics,"  Dorner 
wrote  in  the  "Yearbook  of  German  Theology,"  that  he 
admired  the  moderation  as  well  as  the  comprehensive- 
ness of  the  author's  views,  which,  though  exhibiting  due 
respect  for  the  masters  of  Scottish  philosophy,  had  not 
restrained  the  writer's  independent  judgment,  or  kept 
him  stationary.  It  is  needless  and  would  be  wearisome  to 
repeat  any  more  of  the  numerous  similar  testimonials 
to  Dr.  McCosh's  influence  on  contemporary  thought,  and 
to  the  deferential  respect  paid  to  him  by  the  ablest  of  his 
fellow-workers.  A  reviewer  of  the  "  London  Quarterly  " 
clearly  stated  the  whole  matter  in  reviewing  the  "  Meta- 
physics." "  No  philosopher  before  Dr.  McCosh,"  he 
wrote,  "  has  brought  out  the  stages  by  which  an  original 
and  individual  intuition  passes,  first  into  an  articulate 
but  still  individual  judgment,  and  then  into  a  universal 
maxirn  or  principle ;  and  no  one  has  so  clearly  or  com- 
pletely classified  and  enumerated  our  intuitive  conclu- 
sions, or  exhibited  in  detail  their  relation  to  the  various 
sciences  which  repose  upon  them  as  their  foundation. 
The  amount  of  summarized  information  which  it  con- 
tains is  very  great ;  and  it  is  the  only  work  on  the  very 
important  subject  with  which  it  deals.  Never  was  such 
a  work  so  much  needed  as  in  the  present  day.  It  is  the 
only  scientific  work  adapted  to  counteract  the  school  of 
Mill,  Bain,  and  Herbert  Spencer,  which  is  so  steadily 
prevailing  among  the  students  of  the  present  generation." 


PHILOSOPHY  AND  TEACHING  179 

The  strongest  testimony  to  Dr.  McCosh's  pre-eminent 
ability  as  a  teacher  of  philosophy  has  already  been  given 
in  another  connection ;  but  a  few  words  must  be  added 
here  to  enforce  the  connection  between  his  personality 
and  his  instruction.  His  presence  was  impressive  and 
stimulating  to  such  a  degree  that,  in  a  sense,  what  he 
was  and  what  he  believed  were  a  challenge  to  all  comers. 
There  could  be  as  little  indifference  in  hearing  him  as  in 
reading  his  books.  He  was  both  tall  and  massive.  His 
head  was  large  and  symmetrical,  his  features  clear  cut, 
and  his  expression  intense.  When  to  the  impression 
created  by  observation  was  added  the  knowledge  of  his 
extended  reputation,  his  pupils  felt  a  certain  sense  of 
awe.  But  no  sooner  did  he  begin  to  speak  than  his 
humor  began  to  play,  and  his  marked  mannerisms  to 
be  displayed.  Eeasoning  by  bounds,  his  extempore  talks 
were  often  so  elliptical  as  to  be  nearly  incoherent  to  the 
mediocre  mind,  but  the  carefully  prepared  lectures  which 
he  read  to  his  classes  were  concise,  consecutive,  and  con- 
vincing. Carried  away  by  his  subject,  he  left  sufficient 
room  for  the  mischief  of  the  inattentive  or  indolent 
among  his  hearers  to  display  itself,  but  when  recalled 
to  mundane  things  by  its  excess,  his  ebullitions  of  scorn 
were  terrible,  and  quickly  restored  the  equilibrium  of  the 
class-room.  His  nervous  temperament  was  highly  organ- 
ized, the  activity  being  indicated  physically  by  gestures, 
or  by  involuntary  motions,  like  rubbing  his  hands,  or 
smoothing  his  brow,  which  were  constantly  repeated, 
and  became  a  source  of  amused  interest  to  the  other- 
wise indifferent.  In  his  speech  there  was  sometimes 
hesitancy,  sometimes  a  torrential  flow,  but  always  the 
indication  of  powerful  accompanying  brain-work.  The 


180  JAMES  MCCOSH 

combination  of  natural  beauty  and  grace  with  the  evi- 
dent subjugation  of  his  body  by  stalwart,  rugged  think- 
ing, produced  what  at  first  seemed  jerkiness,  but  was 
soon  felt  to  be  an  absorbing  interplay  of  mind  and  body. 
Such  a  personality  was  almost  unique,  and  his  students 
soon  came  under  its  spell.  Subordinating  the  text-book 
to  the  position  of  an  aid  to  memory,  Dr.  McCosh  enforced 
the  spoken  word  of  his  lectures  into  a  powerful  stimulus, 
and  used  his  discussions  as  a  spur  to  original  thought  in 
his  hearers.  He  thus  created  an  enthusiasm  which  made 
those  who  felt  it  designate  him  as  a  man  of  Socratic  mould. 
Even  in  that  most  difficult  of  all  teaching  functions,  the 
oral  instruction  of  large  classes,  Dr.  McCosh  was  able  to 
keep  every  mind  in  the  room  under  the  spell  of  his  own 
movement.  There  were  many  amusing  contretemps  on 
such  occasions,  and  occasionally  some  turbulence,  with  a 
corresponding  display  of  righteous  indignation  from  the 
chair.  But  there  never  was  languor,  and  never  the  feel- 
ing that  the  class,  like  a  skittish  steed,  had  even  momen- 
tarily escaped  from  control.  The  born  teacher,  like  the 
ship-master  in  a  gale,  simply  exerted  himself  as  the  occa- 
sion demanded,  and  all  was  well.  In  this  connection,  it 
should  be  noticed  that  Dr.  McCosh  was  one  of  the  first 
to  introduce  into  the  United  States,  under  the  name  of 
"Library  Meetings,"  what  is  now  known  by  the  German 
designation  of  Seminar.  In  the  hospitality  of  his  own 
study  his  best  pupils  assembled  at  regular  intervals  to 
hear  living  problems  stated  by  graduates  of  special  power, 
or  by  strangers  invited  for  the  purpose,  and  then  to  par- 
ticipate in  a  long,  lively  discussion,  of  which  the  host  was 
the  instigator  and  the  moderator. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  TWENTY   TEARS   OF 
PRINCETON 

1868-1888 

"  MCCOSH'S  most  distinguished  services  to  philoso- 
phy, in  the  broad  sense,  were  not  destined  to  be 
either  as  a  constructive  thinker  or  as  a  teacher  of  meta- 
physics, but  as  an  educator.  During  the  extended  tour  he 
made  through  America  in  1866,  he  had  been  much  feted, 
and  had  made  many  influential  acquaintances  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States.  Although  it  was  ostensibly 
a  holiday  journey,  yet  he  was  ever  revolving  many  im- 
portant schemes  in  his  mind,  and  among  these  was  a 
plan  for  the  alliance  of  Presbyterian  churches  through- 
out the  world,  concerning  which  he  spoke  and  conversed 
much  with  the  leading  men  of  all  the  various  Presby- 
terian denominations.  Moreover,  he  was  then  at  the 
height  of  his  power  as  a  preacher,  and  he  was  gladly 
heard  by  numerous  congregations  at  the  leading  centres 
of  influence.  Though  preaching  had  not  been  ostensibly 
his  profession  for  ten  years  past,  yet  he  might  justly  be 
reckoned  as  a  great  preacher.  As  a  religious  philosopher, 
as  a  hard-working  Christian  philanthropist,  as  the  master 
of  a  strong  and  lucid  style,  he  could  not  fail  to  write 
sermons  of  great  power.  But  he  could  do  more,  far 
more:  reading  with  close  attention  to  his  manuscript, 


182  JAMES  MCCOSH 

he  yet  was  always  vivacious  and  frequently  dramatic; 
his  eye  flashed,  his  hands  moved,  his  figure  swayed  with 
that  natural  adaptation  of  delivery  and  gesture  to  the 
theme  which  characterizes  true  oratory.  Besides,  he  was 
a  born  pamphleteer,  quick  to  seize  the  points  of  interest  in 
any  discussion,  able  to  present  them  with  picturesqueness 
and  ample  illustration,  and  sure  to  conclude  his  remarks 
with  a  penetrating  home-thrust,  which  said  in  plain  Eng- 
lish just  what  he  desired  to  have  remembered.  These 
powers  were  complemented  by  a  rare  social  gift,  not  the 
smoothness  of  pleasant  speech,  nor  the  elegance  of  pol- 
ished manners,  nor  the  deference  of  courtly  self-restraint, 
but  the  gift  of  perfect  naturalness,  of  keen  appreciation,  of 
forcible  statement  and  quick  retort,  of  wit  both  con- 
scious and  unconscious ;  —  in  short,  of  a  most  uncommon 
individuality  which  interested  and  attracted  men  and 
women  of  sound  sense,  —  the  good  breeding  which  makes 
every  one  feel  his  or  her  own  worth.  Such  were  the 
qualities  which  made  him  so  widely  known  and  appre- 
ciated in  the  United  States,  and  gained  for  him  many 
choice  and  influential  friends.  One  of  these  was  the 
late  Dr.  Samuel  Irenaeus  Prime,  for  many  years  the 
editor  of  the  "New  York  Observer,"  a  man  who  was 
in  some  respects  a  kindred  spirit. 

In  1868  the  president  of  Princeton  College  resigned. 
One  of  the  three  or  four  most  ancient  and  distinguished  of 
American  universities,  that  institution,  famous  in  colonial 
and  revolutionary  days  for  the  learning  of  her  professors, 
and  for  the  extended  influence  in  public  life  of  her  sons, 
had  for  a  time  been  sadly  crippled,  partly  by  poverty, 
and  partly  by  the  absence  of  enthusiasm  among  her 
graduates  as  a  whole.  Founded  in  the  most  catholic 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  183 

spirit  as  a  protest  against  the  Old  Light  conservatism  of 
certain  leading  men  in  New  England,  Princeton  had  had 
among  her  governors  men  of  many  evangelical  denomina- 
tions, and  among  her  children  citizens  of  every  school 
in  Church  and  state.  In  the  main,  her  endowments  had 
come  from  Presbyterian  sources,  her  presidents  had  been 
Presbyterian  clergymen,  and  her  affiliations  had  been 
with  the  various  Presbyterian  churches.  At  the  same 
time,  her  charter  was  absolutely  unsectarian,  and  she  had 
never  come  under  the  control  of  any  ecclesiastical  court. 
At  a  time  when  sectarian  bitterness  was  at  its  height, 
this  fact  was  a  source  of  weakness,  but  in  a  moment  when 
interest  in  the  higher  education  for  its  own  sake  was 
reviving  throughout  the  country,  such  liberty  might  be 
made  under  the  leadership  of  a  firm  but  catholic-spirited 
man  a  source  of  great  strength.  Dr.  Prime  had  suggested 
the  name  of  Dr.  McCosh  to  some  of  Princeton's  earnest 
and  intelligent  trustees  as  that  of  a  man  commanding 
great  respect  throughout  the  country  as  a  defender  of  the 
faith,  but  entangled  by  no  local  party  allegiance.  After 
careful  deliberation,  and  the  free  expression  of  widely  diver- 
gent opinions  the  governors  of  Princeton  College  elected 
McCosh  to  be  its  president.  It  was  a  curious  coincidence 
that  just  a  century  earlier  another  Lowland  Scot  had, 
for  similar  reasons  in  a  similar  crisis,  been  chosen  to  the 
same  office.  John  Witherspoon,  by  descent  a  Covenanter, 
in  position  a  leader  against  Moderatism,  by  instinct  a 
statesman,  had,  in  1768,  been  called  to  Princeton  from 
Edinburgh,  and  in  the  unfolding  of  events  had  become  an 
ardent  American,  the  trainer  of  a  generation  of  public 
men,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  a 
champion  of  liberty  in  Church  and  state.  There  were  to 


184  JAMES  MCCOSH 

be  many  striking  parallelisms  in  the  American  careers  of 
the  two  great  Scotchmen.  Dr.  McCosh  received  the  news 
of  his  election  in  May,  1868,  and  after  due  deliberation 
accepted  the  appointment  in  these  words :  "  I  devote  my- 
self and  my  remaining  life  under  God  to  old  Princeton 
and  the  religious  and  literary  interests  with  which  it  is 
identified,  and,  I  fancy,  will  leave  my  bones  in  your  grave- 
yard beside  the  great  and  good  men  who  are  buried  there, 
hoping  that  my  spirit  may  mount  to  communion  with 
them  in  heaven."  After  spending  the  summer  with  his 
father-in-law,  Dr.  Guthrie,  on  his  farm  at  the  base  of 
the  Grampian  Hills  in  Scotland,  carefully  recalling 
the  American  College  system  as  he  had  studied  it  in 
1866,  and  devising  plans  for  his  great  work,  he  bade 
tender  adieus  to  friends  in  both  Ireland  and  Scotland, 
and  reached  Princeton  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year. 

It  was  with  many  pangs  that  Dr.  McCosh  severed  his 
connection  with  old  friends  and  old  duties.  He  had 
passed  his  fifty-seventh  birthday,  having  reached  an  age 
when  many  begin  to  see  the  limits  of  their  powers.  But, 
exceptional  in  his  energy  and  enterprise,  he  was  still 
vigorous  in  health  and  young  in  feeling,  eager  for  wider 
fields  of  influence  than  any  which  had  so  far  opened  to 
him ;  blessed  with  a  wife  whose  views  of  life  and  duty 
were  as  large  as  his  own,  —  a  true  helpmeet,  who,  with 
the  indomitable  energy  of  her  race,  and  the  refinement  of 
her  gentle  blood,  was  fitted  to  further  their  common 
interests  by  her  tact  and  her  power,  —  he  was  doubly 
strong  for  any  undertaking,  however  enormous.  Neither 
the  Irish  nor  the  Scotch  could  feel  that  Dr.  McCosh  was 
going  to  a  strange  country.  He  had  early  discerned  the 


TWENTY  YEARS   OF  PRINCETON  185 

unity  of  the  two  great  English-speaking  peoples,  and  had 
enforced  that  important  fact  upon  the  older  one  so  that 
all  who  knew  him  were  clear  as  to  his  position.  Accord- 
ingly he  was,  after  warm  expostulation,  suffered  to  leave 
with  every  manifestation  of  respect  and  affection.  In 
Belfast  there  was  a  public  banquet,  with  the  most  com- 
plimentary speeches,  and  a  presentation  of  handsome  plate, 
the  presiding  officer  being  Lord  Dufferin.  In  Brechin 
there  was  an  equally  splendid  demonstration  at  a  public 
breakfast,  with  Earl  Dalhousie  in  the  chair.  The  temper 
and  feeling  of  those  who  thus  bade  their  tried  and  honored 
friend  a  hearty  good-by  is  well  summarized  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Lord  Shaftesbury,  written  on  the  eve 
of  Dr.  McCosh's  departure. 

LONDON,  September  27,  1868. 

DEAR  DR.  McCosn :  You  are,  I  hear,  about  to  leave  us, 
and  commence  a  new  career  at  Princeton  in  the  United 
States.  We  ought,  perhaps,  to  rejoice  that  so  worthy  and 
efficient  a  man  is  going  to  be  the  principal  of  a  transatlantic 
college  ;  and  so  to  impart  to  our  American  brethren  a  por- 
tion of  the  advantages  we  have  so  long  enjoyed  ourselves. 
Nevertheless,  we  are  selfish  enough  to  regret  a  little  what 
we  shall  so  soon  lose ;  and  we  may  boldly  and  truly  clothe 
our  sentiments  with  the  name  of  Patriotism.  But  is 
there  not  as  much  room  for  the  spirit  of  British  patriot- 
ism in  the  country  of  your  adoption  as  in  the  country 
you  will  have  left  ?  Can  there  not,  by  God's  blessing,  be 
much  done  to  smooth  differences,  round  angular  points, 
and  harmonize  the  sentiments  of  the  two  nations,  the 
one  towards  the  other  ? 

That  declamatory  sentence  which  we  so  often  hear  "A 


186  JAMES  MCCOSII 

common  freedom,  a  common  language,  a  common  reli- 
gion," should  become  between  us  a  practical  reality,  and 
keep  in  uninterrupted  peace,  the  mother  and  daughter, 
who,  did  they  break  out  into  open  war,  would  be  guilty  of 
the  biggest  wickedness,  and  the  biggest  folly,  ever  yet 
exhibited  among  the  families  of  mankind.  But  such  a 
friendship,  to  be  cordial  and  lasting,  must  rest  on  the 
communion  of  the  great  principles  and  doctrines  laid 
down  at  the  Eeformation,  not  in  any  spirit  of  aggression, 
but  on  a  grand  basis  of  mutual  assistance  and  defence. 
Popery  is  not  our  only  enemy ;  rationalism  is  as  hostile 
as  the  Church  of  Konie  to  the  cardinal  points,  the  "plen- 
ary inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,"  and  the  "supremacy 
of  the  Word  of  God  as  the  sole  guide  and  rule  of  life." 
Now,  although  on  these  matters  the  dangers  of  America 
may  not  be  so  imminent,  at  the  present  time,  as  our  own, 
she  will  have  them,  before  long,  in  the  richest  abundance 
and  variety. 

All  deep  and  sustained  earnestness  in  religion  (as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  feeling  and  action  in  support  of 
establishments,  political  and  ecclesiastical)  seems  to  be 
fast  declining.  The  determination  of  Saint  Paul  to  know 
"  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,"  will  soon 
be  accepted  or  understood  by  a  few  only  either  here  or  else- 
where ;  and  yet  between  the  religious  people  of  America, 
and  the  religious  people  of  England,  there  cannot  be, 
except  in  this  principle,  any  firm  bond  of  union.  The 
feeling  it  inspires,  and  the  habit  of  thought  it  both 
creates  and  maintains  (I  speak  not  here  of  eternal  things), 
are  the  sole  guarantees  for  the  harmony  of  nations,  and 
for  perfect  freedom,  collectively  and  individually,  under 
either  a  monarchy,  or  a  republic. 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  187 

With  earnest  wishes  and  prayers  for  your  success, 
believe  me, 

Very  truly  yours, 

SHAFTESBURY. 

P.  S.  Every  one  must  contemplate  with  peculiar  in- 
terest the  proposed  gathering,  at  New  York,  of  delegates 
from  all  the  Protestant  nations  to  take  counsel  together 
on  religious  matters.  Here  would  be  a  noble  opportunity 
to  propound,  and  perhaps  to  carry  out,  the  great  plan  you 
have  in  view. 

Dr.  Charles  Hodge  declared,  in  his  address  at  the  cer- 
emonies attending  Dr.  McCosh's  inauguration,  that  never 
in  the  history  of  the  college  had  an  academic  election 
been  received  with  such  a  universal  expression  of  ap- 
probation. This  was  literally  true,  and  the  welcome 
which  the  new  president  received  when,  on  October  27, 
he  took  his  seat,  swearing  loyalty  to  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
was  a  fitting  compliment  to  the  farewells  so  tenderly 
spoken  across  the  sea.  The  trustees,  the  alumni,  the 
students,  the  friends  of  the  college,  felt  that  a  new  epoch 
in  the  history  of  Princeton  had  been  opened ;  the  press 
throughout  the  country  considered  the  occasion  as  one  of 
high  importance ;  and  the  few  careful  students  of  American 
education  realized  that  a  new  factor  had  been  added  to 
the  problem,  not  a  complicating  factor,  but  a  helpful 
systematizes  The  president's  inaugural  address  was  a 
pronunciamento.  With  high  appreciation  of  the  American 
colleges,  it  analyzed  the  educational  systems  of  Great  Bri- 
tain and  America,  deducing  by  comparison  and  exclusion  a 
very  definite  forecast  of  what  was  the  course  to  be  taken 


188  JAMES  MCCOSH 

in  the  latter.  Of  Princeton,  he  used  the  word  University 
by  the  figure  of  speech  known  as  anticipation,  but  this 
he  did  of  intention ;  announcing  the  relative  values  in  a 
university  scheme  of  the  classics,  mathematics,  mental 
and  moral  science,  political  economy,  literature,  aesthetics, 
modern  languages,  and,  what  was  then  a  high  novelty, 
physical  training.  He  likewise  discussed  modes  of  teach- 
ing, the  uses  of  fellowships,  standards  of  scholarship,  and 
the  superlative  importance  of  professorial  teaching  as  op- 
posed to  the  tutorial  system.  Yet  this  was  done  without 
any  sense  on  the  part  of  his  hearers  that  a  stranger  was 
assuming  to  dictate ;  the  feeling  was  as  if  a  powerful  com- 
patriot, or  even  fellow-scholar,  had  put  his  shoulder  to  a 
wheel  just  turning  out  of  the  old  ruts.  This  instinctive 
perception  was  prescient,  for  within  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  some  of  the  American  colleges  have  been 
transformed  in  scope  and  spirit,  and  in  that  transforma- 
tion Princeton  has  moved  as  one  of  the  controlling  forces. 
The  higher  education  was  at  the  ebb-tide  of  its  for- 
tunes during  the  sixties,  throughout  the  whole  United 
States.  This  was  in  no  sense  due  to  the  lack  of  great 
scholars  and  able  teachers,  as  a  glance  through  the 
catalogues  of  those  years  will  conclusively  prove ;  it 
was  owing  to  an  inadequate,  crystallized  system.,  and 
the  neglect  of  educational  interests  incident  to  the  great 
struggle  for  nationality.  Young  men  of  intellectual 
aspirations  were  turning  their  eyes  toward  Europe  for 
the  stimulus  and  opportunity  they  so  eagerly  desired. 
Since  both  England  and  France  were  slightly  disdain- 
ful of  American  learning,  and  their  universities,  in 
consequence,  were  not  entirely  hospitable  to  American 
students,  the  eager  youth  of  the  United  States  were 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  189 

thronging  the  halls  of  the  German  universities,  which 
were  not  merely  hospitable  but  pressing  in  their  invi- 
tation, opening  their  doors  wide,  making  easy  the  en- 
trance to  all  their  stores  of  science  and  learning,  and 
holding  their  academic  prizes  at  the  disposal  of  all 
comers  who  could  prove  their  fitness  to  receive  them. 
This  movement  had  created  much  alarm  among  those 
who  desired  that  American  institutions  should  be  the 
peers  of  any,  and  who  saw  the  possible  dangers  in 
foreign  influence  upon  a  class  of  students  who  had 
great  powers  of  acquisition  but  a  slender  gift  of  dis- 
crimination, —  a  considerable  body  of  able  men,  who,  for 
a  normal  development,  require  not  merely  the  spur  of 
intellectual  competition,  but  the  wholesome  restraints 
of  home  standards  as  to  conduct,  in  order  to  reach 
their  highest  usefulness  as  scholar-citizens.  Four  years 
previously,  Columbia  had  called  Barnard  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  her  regeneration;  Harvard  had  chosen 
Eliot  for  the  same  purpose;  Oilman  was  soon  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  organization  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
as  a  hearthstone  of  the  highest  specialization ;  Yale 
was  sowing  the  seeds  of  prosperity  under  Woolsey,  and 
Princeton  was  now  to  enter  the  lists  under  McCosh.  In 
situation,  in  social  connection,  in  ecclesiastical  affiliation, 
in  patriotic  tradition,  the  last-named  college  was  very 
strong;  but  her  resources  were  very  slender,  and,  with 
a  few  notable  exceptions,  her  devoted  supporters  were 
stronger  morally  than  financially.  There  was  no  great 
commercial  city  to  feel  a  local  pride  in  her  upbuilding, 
no  close-knitted  organization  of  graduates  to  stand  jeal- 
ous guard  over  her  interests.  Located  midway  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  she  had  enjoyed  the  favor 


190  JAMES  MCCOSH 

of  neither,  and  her  graduates,  except  the  large  number 
resident  in  New  Jersey,  were  scattered  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  Union,  many  of  them  disloyal, 
impoverished,  and  embittered,  living  secluded  as  best  they 
might  among  the  southern  States  so  recently  scourged  by 
war.  Besides,  the  college  had  been  waging  relentless 
warfare  upon  the  Greek-letter  fraternities  in  the  interest 
of  its  ancient  literary  societies,  Whig  and  Clio  Halls.  As 
a  consequence,  the  friends  of  the  former  institutions  were 
more  or  less  hostile  to  Princeton,  and  many  of  its  former 
students  who  had  been  disciplined  for  joining  them  were 
fierce  in  their  enmity.  Add  to  these  considerations  the 
fact  that  many  evil  practices,  like  hazing,  dishonesty  in 
examinations,  or  faculty  espionage,  were  rife  in  Princeton, 
at  least  to  the  same  extent  as  in  other  colleges,  and  we 
shall  have  some  conception  of  the  task  before  a  foreigner, 
well  on  in  middle  life,  who  expected  to  evolve  a  new  sys- 
tem, to  win  public  confidence,  to  regenerate  student  man- 
ners, and  to  secure  the  endowments  necessary  for  a  work 
of  such  magnitude.  How  this  difficult  task  was  accom- 
plished was  told  by  Dr.  McCosh  with  honorable  pride 
when  he  resigned  the  president's  chair  in  1888.  His 
narrative  is  as  follows: 

In  speaking  of  the  progress  of  the  college,  I  do  not 
claim  any  exclusive  merit.  The  credit  is  due  first  to 
God's  Providence,  which  has  favored  us,  and  under  this 
to  trustees,  to  faculty,  to  students,  to  munificent  bene- 
factors, to  innumerable  friends,  who  have  prayed  for  us 
and  practically  helped  us, — they  are  so  many  that  I  am 
sorry  to  find  that  I  have  not  space  to  name  them  all. 
All  that  I  claim  is  that  I  have  had  the  unspeakable 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  191 

privilege  of  being  in  all  the  work,  and  in  every  part 
of  it. 

I  came  at  an  opportune  time.  I  owe  any  success  I 
have  had  to  this  circumstance  more  than  to  any  other. 
The  war,  so  disastrous  and  yet  so  glorious,  was  over. 
Princeton  College  had  suffered,  —  not,  however,  in  honor, 
— but  she  had  numerous  friends,  and  nobly  did  they 
gather  round  her,  and  they  said,  as  it  were,  to  me,  in 
language  loud  enough  for  me  to  hear,  "  Do  you  advance 
and  we  will  support  you."  In  those  days  I  was  like  the 
hound  in  the  leash  ready  to  start,  and  they  encouraged 
me  with  their  shouts  as  I  sprang  forth  into  the  hunt. 

When  called  to  this  place,  I  was  a  professor  in  the 
youngest  of  the  universities  set  up  by  Great  Britain ; 
I  had  helped  somewhat  to  form  it,  and  in  doing  so 
had  to  study  the  European  systems  of  college  education. 
But  I  announced:  "I  have  no  design,  avowed  or  secret, 
to  revolutionize  your  American  colleges,  or  reconstruct 
them  after  a  European  model.  I  have  seen  enough  of 
the  American  colleges  to  become  convinced  that  they  are 
not  rashly  to  be  meddled  with.  They  are  the  spontane- 
ous growth  of  your  position  and  intelligence;  they  are 
associated  with  your  history,  and  have  become  adjusted 
to  your  wants,  and  whatever  improvements  they  admit 
of  must  be  built  on  the  old  foundation." 

I  became  heir  at  once  to  a  rich  inheritance  handed 
down  by  a  long  line  of  presidential  ancestors,  in  Dickin- 
son, Burr,  Edwards,  Davis,  Finley,  Witherspoon,  Stan- 
hope Smith,  Ashbel  Green,  Carnahan,  and  Maclean.  It 
was  my  privilege  to  reap  what  others  had  sown ;  I  was 
awed,  and  yet  encouraged,  by  the  circumstance  that  I 
had  to  follow  such  intellectual  giants  as  Edwards 


192  JAMES  MCCOSH 

and  Witherspoon.  My  immediate  predecessor  was  John 
Maclean,  "the  well  beloved,"  who  watched  over  the 
young  men  so  carefully,  and  never  rebuked  a  student 
without  making  him  a  friend.  But  I  did  not  allow 
myself  to  fall  into  the  weakness  of  trying  to  do  over 
again  what  my  predecessors  had  done,  and  done  so 
well.  My  aim  has  been  to  advance  with  the  times,  and 
to  do  a  work  in  my  day  such  as  they  did  in  theirs.  My 
heart  has  all  along  been  in  my  work,  which  I  commenced 
immediately  after  my  inauguration. 

I  am  now  to  give  some  account  of  that  work  under 
convenient  heads.  I  may  begin  with  the  buildings,  not 
because  they  are  the  most  important,  but  because  they 
strike  the  eye.  Every  alumnus  of  the  college  should 
come  up  once  a  year  if  he  lives  not  far  off,  and  once 
every  three  years  if  he  resides  at  a  distance,  to  pay 
his  respects  to  his  Alma  Mater,  who  will  be  sure  to 
give  him  a  welcome.  To  all  who  have  performed  this 
filial  duty,  she  has  shown  every  year  for  the  last  twenty 
years  a  new  building,  a  new  fellowship,  or  a  new  pro- 
fessorship. 

Those  present  at  my  inauguration  heard  the  shout, 
sufficient  to  rend  the  heavens,  when  I  declared  that 
every  college  should  have  a  gymnasium  for  the  body  as 
well  as  for  the  mind.  Mr.  Robert  Bonner  and  Mr.  Henry 
G.  Marquand  answered  the  challenge  on  the  part  of  the 
students,  and  as  our  first  benefactors  engaged  to  raise  a 
gymnasium,  which  was  opened  in  January,  1870,  and  the 
most  accomplished  gymnast  in  America  appointed  as 
superintendent. 

I  confess  that  I  was  disappointed,  when  I  came  here, 
with  the  state  of  the  buildings.  Some  of  the  recitation- 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  193 

rooms,  especially  those  in  the  building  now  called  the 
college  offices,  were  temptations  to  disorder,  of  which 
the  students  took  advantage.  At  times  they  would  take 
out  the  stove,  and  when  the  class  met  in  the  morning 
they  cried  "  cold,"  "  cold,"  and  the  professor  had  to  dis- 
miss them ;  some  of  the  instructors,  however,  keeping 
them  in  the  whole  hour.  I  remember  one  night  when 
they  took  out  the  furniture  of  a  room,  and  made  a  bonfire 
of  it.  In  these  circumstances  we  saw  the  need  of  having 
new  recitation-rooms  of  a  higher  order,  and  the  stately 
structure  of  Dickinson  Hall,  commenced  in  1869,  ap- 
peared completed  on  the  campus  in  1870.  There  the 
chief  lectures  and  recitations  in  the  academic  department 
have  been  held  ever  since,  and  there,  from  day  to  day, 
an  intellectual  gymnasium  is  kept  up  for  the  strengthen- 
ing of  the  mind. 

Meanwhile,  our  students  increased,  and  Eeunion  Hall, 
so  called  in  honor  of  the  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New 
School  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  was  begun 
in  1870,  and  finished  in  1871.  The  library  and  its  con- 
tents were  unworthy  of  the  college,  —  the  number  of 
volumes  was  under  30,000,  —  and  a  new  library  building, 
I  believe  the  most  beautiful  in  the  country,  was  finished 
in  1873,  and  the  number  of  volumes  is  now  towards 
70,000. 

All  this  time  Mr.  John  C.  Green  was  our  greatest 
benefactor,  and  his  brother,  Chancellor  Green,  was 
always  working  with  him.  In  1873,  Mr.  J.  C.  Green 
started  the  School  of  Science,  the  most  important  addi- 
tion which  has  been  made  to  the  college  in  my  day. 
Since  his  decease,  in  1875,  his  wishes  have  been  carried 
out  most  honorably  and  generously  by  his  trustees ;  the 

13 


194  JAMES  MCCOSH 

sum  contributed  by  his  estate  to  the  good  of  the  college 
must  be  upward  of  a  million  and  a  half,  perhaps  two 
millions.  Of  them,  we  in  Princeton  may  say,  in  the 
language  applied  to  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  '  Si  monu- 
rnentum  requiris,  circumspice."  These  were  the  days 
of  our  prosperity,  which  was  powerfully  promoted  by 
the  wise  counsels  and  the  constant  energies  of  the  Hon. 
John  A.  Stewart  and  Mr.  Henry  M.  Alexander,  without 
whom  I  never  could  have  done  what  I  have  been 
enabled  to  do. 

In  1875  we  were  all  touched  by  the  gift  of  $15,000, 
left  us  by  a  very  promising  young  man,  Mr.  Hamilton 
Murray,  who  perished  at  sea  in  the  "Ville  du  Havre." 
That  sum  was  devoted  by  his  brother  to  the  erection  of 
the  hall  which  bears  his  name,  and  which  has  become 
the  College  Oratory,  in  which  prayer  is  wont  to  be 
made  by  the  students,  and  of  which  it  may  be  said : 
This  man  and  that  man  was  born  there. 

In  the  same  year  our  visiting  alumni  would  see  in 
old  North  College  the  beautiful  E.  M.  Museum,  con- 
structed by  Mr.  William  Libbey,  and  arranged  so  taste- 
fully with  geological  specimens  by  Professor  Guyot.  To 
the  same  gentleman,  Mr.  Libbey,  we  owe  University  Hall, 
erected  at  an  expense  of  nearly  $200,000,  first  used  as 
an  hotel  for  the  friends  of  the  college,  and  now  as  a 
dormitory  for  our  students.  Our  numbers  were  increas- 
ing, and  in  1876  Witherspoon  Hall  was  built,  with  its 
elegant  rooms  and  grand  prospect,  where  the  students  have 
not  only  every  comfort,  but  every  means  of  refining  their 
tastes.  At  this  point,  1878, 1  have  to  speak  with  grati- 
tude of  the  gift  bestowed  on  the  college  and  on  me  by 
my  friend,  the  late  Alexander  Stuart,  of  the  president's 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  195 

house,  with  the  lovely  accompanying  grounds,  forming 
the  finest  residence  occupied  by  the  president  of  any 
college  in  the  world,  and  where  I  have  spent  in  comfort 
and  elegance  nine  years  of  my  life. 

In  1878-79  a  telescope,  provided  by  a  few  friends,  was 
placed  in  the  observatory,  which  had  been  built  in  1868 
by  General  Halstead,  and  by  it  observations  have  been 
made  which  let  us  know  something  of  the  sun  and 
planets.  In  the  same  year  houses  were  built  for  Pro- 
fessor Young  and  Professor  Brackett,  and  Edwards  Hall 
was  erected  to  give  students  rooms  at  a  lower  rate. 

In  1881-82  Mr.  Henry  G.  Marquand  erected  the 
College  Chapel,  the  most  beautiful  in  America,  and  there 
the  members  of  the  college  will  worship  on  Sabbath  and 
on  week  days  for  ages  to  come,  and  draw  down  blessings 
on  the  college  and  its  students  in  all  future  time.  And 
now  you  see  that  Biological  Laboratory  completed,  the 
noble  gift  of  the  Class  of  1877,  where  experiments  will 
continually  be  made,  by  a  number  of  our  professors,  to 
throw  light  on  the  mysteries  of  life. 

As  the  Marquand  family  had  done  so  much  for  Art, — 
Mr.  Frederick  Marquand's  trustees  having  given  $60,000 
for  the  endowment  of  a  chair,  —  I  was  determined  that 
there  should  be  an  Art  Museum  for  carrying  out  their 
intentions ;  and,  departing  from  rny  usual  practice,  I 
went  round  to  receive  subscriptions,  and  raised  $42,000, 
given  in  the  most  generous  manner  by  about  a  dozen 
contributors.  That  museum  has  been  erected,  and  has 
received  the  fine  collection  of  pottery  and  porcelain 
promised  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Prime. 

I  remember  the  first  view  which  I  got  of  the  pleasant 
height  on  which  the  college  stands,  the  highest  ground 


196  JAMES  MCCOSH 

between  the  two  great  cities  of  the  Union,  looking  down 
on  a  rich  country,  covered  with  wheat  and  corn,  with 
apples  and  peaches,  resembling  the  south  of  England  as 
much  as  one  country  can  be  like  another.  Now  we  see 
that  height  covered  with  buildings,  not  inferior  to  those 
of  any  other  college  in  America.  I  have  had  great 
pleasure  in  my  hours  of  relaxation  in  laying  out  — 
always  assisted  by  the  late  Eev.  W.  Harris,  the  treasurer 
of  the  college  —  the  grounds  and  walks,  and  locating  the 
buildings.  I  have  laid  them  out  somewhat  on  the  model 
of  the  demesnes  of  English  noblemen.  I  have  always 
been  healthiest  when  so  employed.  I  remember  the 
days,  sunshiny  or  cloudy,  in  April  and  November,  on 
which  I  cut  down  dozens  of  deformed  trees  and  shrubs, 
and  planted  large  numbers  of  new  ones  which  will  live 
when  I  am  dead.  I  do  not  believe  that  I  will  be  allowed 
to  come  back  from  the  other  world  to  this ;  but  if  this  were 
permitted,  I  might  be  allured  to  visit  these  scenes  so 
dear  to  me,  and  to  see  the  tribes  on  a  morning  go  up  to 
the  house  of  God  in  companies. 

I  never  looked  on  these  buildings  as  constituting  our 
chief  work.  I  remember  that  some  critics  found  fault 
with  me  for  laying  out  too  much  money  on  stone  and 
lime ;  but  I  proceeded  on  system,  and  knew  what  I  was 
doing.  I  viewed  the  edifices  as  means  to  an  end,  at 
best  as  outward  expressions  and  symbols  of  an  internal 
life. 

I  said  to  myself  and  I  said  to  others,  "  We  have  a  fine 
old  college  here,  with  many  friends ;  why  should  we  not 
make  it  equal  to  any  college  in  America,  and  in  the  end 
to  any  in  Europe  ?  "  The  friends  of  Princeton  saw  that 
I  was  in  earnest,  and  nobly  did  they  encourage  me.  I 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  197 

shall  never  forget  the  substantial  kindness  I  received  at 
that  time.  I  could  not  walk  up  Broadway  without  some 
one  coming  up  to  me  and  saying,  "  Do  you  not  want  so 
and  so  ?  I  will  help  you  to  get  it."  As  he  met  me,  Mr. 
John  C.  Green  took  me  into  a  corner,  and  told  me  that 
he  meant  to  offer  to  erect  a  certain  building,  adding,  "  If 
I  die  before  this  is  done,  I  have  drawn  out  papers  to 
secure  its  execution." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. TWENTY    YEARS    OF 

PRINCETON  (Continued) 

T  HAD  to  consider  at  the  beginning  what  would  be  the 
course  of  study  in  the  college.  I  resolved,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  keep  all  that  was  good  in  the  old  studies  which 
had  trained  our  fathers ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  saw 
there  were  new  branches  entitled  to  be  placed  alongside 
the  old.  The  problem  with  me  was  to  make  a  judicious 
combination  of  the  two.  In  the  winter  after  I  entered 
upon  my  duties  a  joint  committee  of  the  trustees  and  of 
the  faculty  held  a  number  of  meetings,  which  ended  in 
our  drawing  out  a  scheme  which,  with  important  modifi- 
cations and  improvements,  has  been  continued  to  this 
day.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  our  students,  and 
of  the  branches  taught,  will  now  require  some  new 
modifications,  but  I  hope  they  will  run  in  the  same  line. 

Hitherto  all  the  students  had  been  required  to  take 
the  same  course  of  study,  being  the  good  old  solid  one 
handed  down  from  our  fathers.  But  this  was  felt  to  be 
irksome  by  many  who  were  weary  of  studying  Mathe- 
matics, Latin,  and  Greek  all  the  four  years  of  their 
course,  while  there  were  new  and  attractive  branches  of 
literature  and  science  from  which  they  were  excluded. 
The  principle  on  which  we  acted  was  that  an  endeavor 
should  be  made  to  introduce  into  the  college  every 
department  of  true  scholarship  and  knowledge,  taking 


From  the  Alto-Rilievo  by  St.  Gaudens  in  the  Marquand 
Chapel,  presented  in  1889  by  the  Class  of  i8jg 


CHAPTER  XIH 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.  —  TWENTY    YEARS    OP 
PRINCETON  (  Continued) 

T  HAD  to  consider  at  the  beginning  what  would  be  the 
course  of  study  in  the  college.  I  resolved,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  keep  all  that  was  good  iii  the  old  studies  which 
had  trained  our  fatm-ry;  but,  un  the  other  hand,  I  saw 
there  were  new  branches  entitled  to  be  placed  alongside 
the  old.  Tb*»  *ynA4,>ru  tvltU  ma>,  was  to  make  a  judicious 


lh<r   Jfiv  «n    ».»i  • 

our  drawing  out  a  scheme  which,  with  important 
cations  and  improvemeat*,  has  heen  continued  to  this 
day.  The  increase  m  the  nuiul>er  uf  our  Ktudents,  and 
of  the  branches  taught,  will  now  require  some  new 
modifications,  but  I  hope  they  will  run  in  the  same  line. 

Hitherto  all  the  students  had  been  required  to  take 
the  same  course  of  study,  being  the  good  old  solid  one 
handed  down  from  our  fathers.  But  this  was  felt  to  be 
irksome  by  many  who  were  weary  of  studying  Mathe- 
matics, Latin,  and  Greek  all  the  four  years  of  their 
course,  while  there  were  new  and  attractive  branches  of 
literature  and  science  from  which  they  were  excluded. 
The  principle  on  which  we  acted  was  that  an  endeavor 
should  be  made  to  introduce  into  the  college  every 


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TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  199 

care  to  leave  out  all  that  was  fictitious  and  pretentious. 
But,  as  we  projected  new  branches,  we  discovered  that 
they  were  so  numerous  that  we  could  not  impose  them 
all  without  burdening  the  minds  of  the  students  on  the 
one  hand,  or  on  the  other  making  them  "  Jacks  of  all 
trades  and  masters  of  none."  Every  one  sees  that  the 
day  of  universal  scholars,  such  as  Aristotle,  Scaliger,  and 
Leibnitz,  has  gone  by,  and  can  never  return.  Not  only 
have  the  physical  sciences  been  multiplying,  but  all 
departments  of  philology,  of  historical,  social,  and  phil- 
osophic study.  Hence  the  necessity  of  allowing  elec- 
tives  in  the  curriculum  of  study. 

We  need  to  lay  restraints  on  electives.  Surely  we  are 
not  to  allow  candidates  for  A.B.  and  A.M.  to  choose 
what  studies  they  please.  These  two  degrees  have 
hitherto  had  a  meaning,  and  it  should  be  kept  up,  so  that 
those  who  have  gained  it  may  be  recognized  as  scholars. 
An  indiscriminate  choice  holds  out  a  temptation,  which 
many  are  not  able  to  resist,  to  take  the  easiest  subjects, 
—  say  narrative  history,  —  or  those  taught  by  easy-going 
or  popular  teachers,  who  may  or  may  not  exact  syste- 
matic study.  I  hold  that  there  are  branches  which  are 
necessary  to  the  full  development  of  the  mind,  which 
every  educated  man  ought  to  know.  No  one,  I  think, 
should  be  a  graduate  of  a  college  who  does  not  know 
mathematics  and  classics,  the  one  to  solidify  the  reasoning 
powers,  and  the  other  to  refine  the  taste. 

On  a  memorable  occasion  I  defended  Greek  as  an  obliga- 
tory study  in  our  colleges.1  Greek  and  Latin  have  been, 

1  The  debate  on  this  subject  between  President  Eliot  and  Dr.  McCosh 
attracted  widespread  attention.  It  took  place  in  New  York,  on  Feb.  24, 
1885.  Dr.  McCosh 's  remarks  were  as  follows  : 

I  was  asked  to  come  into  a  debate  which  was  to  be  three-cornered. 


200  JAMES  MCCOSH 

in  fact,  the  main  instrument  in  transmitting  to  us  a 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  world.  Greek  is  the  most  per- 

President  Porter  of  Yale,  as  well  as  President  Eliot,  was  to  have  taken 
part  in  it.  It  has  now  become  two-cornered,  if  such  a  term  were  per- 
missible, and  I  am  called  to  criticise  directly  what  is  known  as  the  new 
departure  of  Harvard.  I  am  glad  that  the  matter  has  been  brought  to  a 
crisis.  The  movemenj;  has  been  long  going  on  at  Harvard  in  a  silent 
way,  and  it  is  time  that  the  public  and  parents  should  have  an  opportunity 
of  knowing  what  is  the  system  adopted  in  one  of  our  foremost  colleges. 
President  Eliot  has  formulated  the  question  in  a  manner  that  is  large, 
loose,  vague,  showy,  and  plausible,  but  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  show  the 
fallacies  that  underlie  his  reasonings.  The  sacred  word  "  liberty  "  has  been 
used  as  a  catchword  to  lure  students,  and  youug  men  are  made  to  believe 
that  they  will  be  permitted  to  choose  those  studies  in  which  they  can  ob- 
tain the  highest  grades  with  the  least  labor.  I  am  not  antiquated,  and 
although  I  am  an  old  man,  I  am  not  old-fashioued.  My  aim  all  through 
my  professional  life  has  been  to  elevate  learning,  and  I  hope  to  see  every 
new  branch  of  true  learning  introduced  into  our  colleges,  but  I  cannot 
indorse  the  course  which  Harvard  has  pursued.  I  believe  that  men 
should  have  freedom  in  choosing  their  studies ;  but  the  freedom  has  limits. 
Men  are  free  to  choose  their  colleges,  and  the  departments  which  they 
will  follow  in  these  colleges, whether  law  or  medicine  or  theology ;  but  there 
liberty  should  cease,  and  it  should  be  understood  that  certain  branches 
must  be  studied.  To  hold  the  contrary  leads  at  once  to  a  reductio  ad 
absurdum.  What  if  a  medical  student  should  neglect  physiology  and 
anatomy  and  materia  medica,  for  music  and  the  drama  and  painting  ?  It 
is  evident,  therefore,  that  there  must  be  some  restrictions. 

Now  a  college  curriculum  should  have  two  elements  or  characteristics. 
First,  there  should  be  required  studies  for  all  who  pursue  a  full  course  for 
a  degree  ;  and  secondly,  the  attendance  at  lectures  and  recitations  should 
be  compulsory.  The  required  studies  should  be  disciplinary,  affording 
true  mental  training.  Such  studies  are  English,  Greek,  Latin,  German, 
French,  history,  mathematics  and  physical  science.  Later  in  the  college 
course  should  come  biology,  geology,  political  economy,  and  the  mental 
sciences.  All  these  studies  should  be  so  spread  over  the  years  passed  by 
a  boy  at  school  and  at  college,  that  each  step  naturally  leads  to  another. 
In  other  words,  they  should  be  logically  arranged.  The  degrees  of  Master 
of  Arts  and  Bachelor  of  Arts  were  instituted  as  incentives  in  those  higher 
studies  which  have  always  been  regarded  as  affording  the  best  training 
for  the  human  mind,  and  I  contend  that  those  who  wish  to  obtain  these 
degrees  should  be  obliged  to  pursue  the  studies  with  which  they  have 
always  been  associated.  Other  degrees  may  be  instituted,  such  as  Bache- 
lor of  Science  or  Bachelor  of  Literature,  and  different  requirements  may 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  201 

feet  language,  and   contains  the  highest  literature  and 
thought  of  antiquity.     The  learned  professions  generally, 

be  prescribed  for  these  degrees ;  but  let  not  M.A.  and  B.A.  be  awarded 
for  proficiency  in  French  or  German  or  music  or  painting  alone. 

In  the  college  curriculum  the  mental  sciences  are  of  special  importance. 
Young  men  should  be  taught  to  know  themselves  as  well  as  to  know  the  out- 
side world.  They  should  be  taught  that  they  have  souls,  for  thus  only  can 
they  be  saved  from  drifting  toward  materialism.  In  Princeton  we  believe 
in  a  trinity  of  studies,  —  science,  philosophy,  and  the  languages.  Berlin 
University,  to  which  President  Eliot  has  referred,  has  through  its  pro- 
fessors given  eloquent  tribute  to  the  usefulness  of  the  classic  tongues,  and 
I  have  known  scientific  men  who  told  their  pupils  to  study  Latin  and 
Greek  as  a  preparation  for  physics  and  astronomy.  Now,  at  Harvard,  a 
young  man  has  200  courses  from  which  he  may  choose,  and  many  of  these 
courses  I  am  compelled  to  call  dilettante.  I  should  prefer  a  young  man 
who  had  been  trained  in  an  old-fashioned  college  in  rhetoric,  philosophy, 
Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics  to  one  who  had  frittered  away  four  years 
in  studying  the  French  drama  of  the  18th  century,  a  little  music  and 
similar  branches. 

I  now  come  to  my  second  point  —  that  attendance  upon  lectures  and 
recitations  should  be  compulsory.  If  a  young  man  has  freedom  to  choose 
his  studies,  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  come  to  the  lecture-room  one  day 
and  stay  away  the  next.  Professors  at  Harvard  have  complained  to  me 
that  the  optional  system  there  in  force  often  results  in  forcing  them  to 
lecture  to  empty  seats.  It  may  be  said  that  it  is  enough  if  the  student 
passes  his  examination  at  the  end  of  the  term.  It  is  true  that  a  man  may 
become  a  scholar  without  going  to  college ;  but  being  there  he  should 
certainly  get  all  the  advantage  possible  from  his  course.  I  have  had 
experience  in  Europe  of  this  optional  system,  and  I  have  not  found  it 
beneficial.  It  invariably  leads  to  cramming,  and  conscientious  work  is 
superseded  by  a  feverish  effort  before  the  examination  day.  In  Germany 
it  is  true  that  the  system  is  practised  with  success.  But  the  Germans 
have  one  great  safeguard,  which  we  have  not,  in  the  Bureau  of  State  Ex- 
aminers, who  stand  in  the  path  of  every  man  who  would  obtain  a  position, 
whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical  or  military.  If  Massachusetts  should  insti- 
tute such  an  examining  board,  then  Harvard  might  safely  follow  her 
present  course. 

I  have  a  few  words  to  say  on  specialties.  Men  have  different  talents 
and  different  vocations,  and  special  studies  should  therefore  be  provided 
for  them.  Elective  studies  should  be  of  two  kinds.  First,  branches 
which  would  not  be  good  for  all,  but  may  prove  profitable  to  a  few.  Such 
studies  are  Hebrew,  Sanskrit,  and,  among  the  sciences,  paleontology. 
Secondly,  there  should  be  elective  courses  in  the  higher  departments  oi 


202  JAMES  MCCOSH 

but  particuarly  the  churches,  have  a  special  interest  in 
retaining  this  tongue.  Suppose  it  not  to  be  required  in 
our  colleges,  it  would  soon  come  not  to  be  required  in  our 
schools,  and  so  a  large  body  of  our  students  would  be 
ignorant  of  it.  Now,  suppose  a  student  to  have  his  heart 
touched  by  a  divine  power  about  the  time  when  young  men 
commonly  choose  their  profession  in  life.  He  feels  himself 
called  on  to  devote  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  of 

those  studies  whose  elements  are  obligatory  to  all.  Thus  all  young  men 
should  study  mathematics,  but  only  those  with  a  special  mathematical 
taste  can  master  quaternions,  functions,  or  quantics.  In  Princeton  we 
continue  these  elective  studies  side  by  side  with  obligatory  and  disciplinary 
branches,  so  that  in  the  junior  and  senior  years  there  are  certain  required  and 
certain  elective  branches.  In  Harvard,  however,  everything  is  scattered 
like  the  star  dust  out  of  which  worlds  are  said  to  have  been  made.  In  a 
college  we  should  have  specialists,  but  not  mere  specialists,  for  such  are 
bigoted  and  intolerant.  The  truest  and  best  specialist  is  the  one  who  is 
well  acquainted  with  collateral  branches.  From  a  too  great  choice  of 
studies  arise  certain  grave  evils.  Young  men  on  entering  college  do  not 
know  their  own  minds,  nor  what  is  to  be  their  future  calling,  and  if  left 
to  themselves  make  wrong  selections  which  impair  their  future  usefulness. 

On  the  question  of  government,  I  hold  that  a  college  like  a  country 
needs  a  government.  Young  men  need  moral  training  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual training.  But  the  result  of  all  this  should  be  to  teach  them  inde- 
pendence, and  train  them  to  think  and  act  for  themselves.  I  don't  believe 
in  the  spy  system,  neither  do  I  believe  in  allowing  young  men  to  drink 
and  gamble  without  giving  them  a  warning  or  a  counsel.  You  tell  me  he 
is  a  man  and  must  govern  himself ;  but  what  can  you  say  of  his  mother's 
agony  and  his  father's  grief  ?  We  can  expel  him,  you  say.  But  this  is 
itself  discipline,  and  if  we  may  expel  why  may  we  not  advise  and  rebuke  ? 
It  is  a  serious  problem,  What  is  to  be  the  religious  teaching  of  our  col- 
leges ?  Huxley  recommends  that  the  Bible  be  used  in  schools.  Herbert 
Spencer  admits  that  there  is  no  moral  power  in  science.  Emerson  man- 
fully advocated  the  continuance  of  prayers  at  Harvard,  —  but  I  am 
approaching  the  subject  of  religion. 

In  conclusion  I  have  only  to  say  that  all  who  desire  to  see  the  cause  of 
American  scholarship  prosper  are  discouraged  by  the  new  departure  of 
Harvard,  and  the  universities  of  the  Old  World  would  be  shocked  to  learn 
that  in  America's  oldest  college  the  students  are  no  longer  required  to  fol- 
low those  studies  which  the  wisdom  of  ages  has  pointed  out  as  being  at 
the  foundation  of  all  true  education. 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  203 

the  Word.  But  in  order  to  do  this  he  has  to  learn  the  lan- 
guage of  the  New  Testament,  beginning  with  its  letters. 
Here  an  obstacle  is  presented  which  will  effectively  pre- 
vent many  from  going  to  the  work  to  which  they  are  called. 
It  is  certain  that  a  college  which  does  not  require  Greek 
will  not  prepare  many  to  go  forth  as  ministers  or  mission- 
aries. This  would  be  a  great  evil,  not  only  to  the 
churches,  but  also  to  the  community  generally.  The 
devout  young  men  who  are  studying  for  the  ministry 
have  a  restraining  and  elevating  influence  in  a  college. 
In  Princeton  there  are  certain  branches  which  are 
required  of  all  in  the  Academic  Department :  Latin  and 
Greek,  English,  Oratory,  Essay  Writing,  French  and 
German,  Physics,  Astronomy,  Geology,  Psychology,  Logic 
and  Ethics,  Eelation  of  Science  and  Eeligion.  Again, 
we  have  a  fixed  course  for  every  year.  In  the  Freshman 
and  Sophomore  years  there  is  little  or  no  variation 
allowed ;  but  when  a  student  has  learned  the  rudimen- 
tary branches,  and  enters  the  Junior  class,  we  believe 
that  he  may  be  allowed,  in  addition  to  the  required 
studies,  a  choice,  both  hi  Junior  and  Senior  years,  among 
a  large  number  of  the  new  subjects  introduced  into  the 
colleges,  —  additions  being  made  to  them  every  year. 
I  reckon  that  usually  in  these  two  upper  classes  about 
one-half  a  student's  time  is  given  to  the  required  and  the 
other  half  to  the  elective  studies.  In  choosing,  he  may 
take  the  old  branches,  or  he  may  take  the  new  ones. 
The  advantage  of  all  this  is  that  the  student  may 
consult  and  gratify  his  tastes,  —  we  find  that  an 
intense  interest  is  taken  by  certain  students  in  the 
new  studies,  —  or  the  student  may  elect  the  branch  or 
branches  fitted  to  prepare  him  for  his  intended  pro- 


204  JAMES  MCCOSH 

fession  in  life.  One  meaning  to  be  a  minister  will 
probably  elect  some  branch  of  philosophy;  the  intend- 
ing doctor  will  probably  take  botany  and  zoology ;  and 
the  lawyer  history  or  social  sciences. 

Both  in  the  required  and  in  the  elective  courses  a 
college  should  seek  to  instruct  students  carefully  in  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  branch  which  they  are 
studying.  There  is  a  loud  demand  in  the  present  day 
for  college  education  being  made  what  they  call  "  prac- 
tical." I  believe  that  this  is  a  mistake.  A  well-known 
ship-builder  once  said  to  me,  "  Do  not  try  to  teach  my 
art  in  school ;  see  that  you  make  the  youth  intelligent, 
and  then  I  will  easily  teach  him  ship-building."  The 
business  of  a  college  is  to  teach  scientific  principles  of 
all  sorts  of  practical  application.  The  youth  thus  trained 
will  start  life  in  far  better  circumstances  than  those  who 
have  learned  only  the  details  of  their  craft,  which  are 
best  learned  in  offices,  stores,  and  factories,  and  will 
commonly  far  outstrip  them  in  the  rivalries  of  life.  He 
will  be  able  to  advance  when  others  are  obliged  to  stop  ; 
he  will  be  ready  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities 
which  are  lost  to  them,  and  will  commonly  advance  the 
branch  in  which  he  is  interested. 

I  have  often  been  asked,  "How  do  the  American 
colleges  stand  in  comparison  with  the  European  ones  ? " 
I  believe  I  can  answer  that  question.  The  scholarship 
of  the  great  body  of  the  students  is  as  high  in  America 
as  in  Europe ;  but  they  rear  in  Great  Britain  and  in 
Germany  a  body  of  rijte  scholars  to  whom  we  have  noth- 
ing equal  in  the  New  World.  This  led  me  to  propose 
that  we  should  institute  fellowships  in  Princeton  College. 
At  an  early  stage  there  were  friends  who  established 


TWENTY  YEARS   OF  PRINCETON  205 

fellowships  in  Mental  Science,  in  Classics,  in  Mathe- 
matics, and  Experimental  Science,  and  at  a  later  date 
in  Biology,  each  providing  $600  a  year  to  the  stu- 
dent who  stood  highest  in  a  competitive  examination. 
Latterly,  some  of  our  younger  alumni  have  been  adding 
university  fellowships,  one  in  Social  Science,  one  in 
Biological  Science,  one  in  English,  and  probably  one  in 
Philosophy,  each  yielding  $400  or  $500  a  year,  and  open 
to  the  graduates  not  only  of  Princeton,  but  every  other 
authorized  college.  These  Fellowships  have  given  a 
powerful  stimulus  to  study,  and  have  enabled  us  to 
produce  scholarship  of  a  high  order. 

This  may  be  the  proper  place  to  refer  to  the  prizes  re- 
ceived during  my  presidency  :  the  Lynde  Prize,  for  Power 
of  Debating ;  the  Alexander  Guthrie  McCosh  Prize,  for 
the  best  Philosophical  Essay  ;  the  Baird  Prizes,  for  Ora- 
tory ;  the  1876  Class  Prize,  for  a  debate  on  Politics  ;  the 
Class  of  1883  At  water  Prize,  in  Political  Science ;  the 
White  Prize,  in  Architecture. 

When  I  became  president,  the  number  giving  instruc- 
tion was  ten  professors,  four  tutors,  two  teachers,  —  in  all 
sixteen,  beside  three  lecturers  extraordinary.  Some  of 
the  younger  classes  were  taught  solely  by  tutors.  I 
think  it  of  importance  to  have  a  succession  of  young  men 
teaching  in  a  college  to  give  fresh  life  to  it,  and  out  of 
whom  to  draw  professors ;  but  I  believed  that  every 
class  should  have  at  least  one  man  of  experience  giving 
it  instruction,  and  it  was  arranged  that  all  Freshmen 
should  be  under  one  or  more  professors.  The  professors 
then  were  chiefly  men  of  mature  life,  of  high  ability  and 
character.  In  adding  new  branches,  we  had  to  get  new 
professors.  It  was  my  duty  to  call  the  attention  of  the 


206  JAMES  MCCOSH 

trustees  to  suitable  persons  for  the  new  or  vacant  offices. 
In  doing  so  I  looked  out  for  scholarly  men,  wherever  I 
could  hear  of  them.  If  I  found  that  they  were  not 
available,  or  not  likely  to  promote  the  moral  and  religious 
welfare  of  the  students,  I  thought  no  more  of  them  ;  and 
I  continued  to  inquire  till  I  was  able  to  recommend  one 
whose  influence  would  be  altogether  for  good.  In  pursu- 
ing this  course  we  have  taken  several  able  men  from 
other  colleges. 

But  I  have  often  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  a  full 
endowment  for  a  professor's  chair,  —  more  difficulty  than 
in  getting  a  building;  so  we  set  ourselves  earnestly  to 
the  work  of  rearing  professors.  We  kept  our  eye  upon  our 
promising  graduates,  and  appointed  them  tutors  or  in- 
structors, with  a  small  salary,  and  then  raised  them,  if 
they  were  good  teachers,  to  the  position  of  assistant  pro- 
fessors, or  full  professors.  Thus  the  Board  of  Trustees 
has  chosen  three  professors  from  the  class  of  1874,  and 
six  from  the  class  of  1877.  So  we  have  been  adding  new 
professors  from  year  to  year.  The  number  of  professors 
is  now  thirty-five,  with  three  tutors  and  several  assist- 
ants and  lecturers,  —  in  all  upwards  of  forty.  We  have 
three  professors  of  Mental  Philosophy,  three  of  Greek, 
two  of  Latin,  three  of  Mathematics,  three  of  English,  in- 
cluding Oratory,  two  of  History  and  Political  Science, 
three  of  Modern  Languages,  two  of  Physics,  two  of 
Astronomy,  two  of  Chemistry,  three  of  the  Natural 
Sciences,  including  Botany,  Zoology,  and  Geology,  three 
of  Engineering,  and  two  of  Art.  We  have  professors  who 
teach  the  Harmony  of  Science  and  Eeligion,  who  teach 
Anglo-Saxon,  who  teach  Oratory,  who  teach  Pedagogics, 
who  teach  Sanscrit,  who  teach  Physiological  Psychology, 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  207 

who  teach  Physical  Geography,  who  teach  Anatomy  and 
Physiology. 

Every  student  is  required  every  year  to  write  a  num- 
ber of  essays.  I  am  not  sure  that  there  is  any  college  in 
America  which  has  so  well  an  arranged  system  of  essay 
writing.  Princeton  College  has  always  paid  attention  to 
public  speaking,  and  we  have  kept  this  up,  by  requiring 
every  student,  unless  incapacitated  by  physical  weakness, 
to  speak  before  a  public  audience.  The  strength  of  our 
college  lies  in  its  staff  of  professors.  I  am  proud  of  those 
whom  I  have  recommended  to  the  trustees.  We  give 
instruction  in  a  greater  number  of  branches  than  are 
usually  taught  in  the  universities  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  and  in  nearly  all  the  branches  taught  in 
Germany. 

I  have  pleasure  in  stating  that  the  faculty  has  all 
along  stood  in  the  most  pleasant  relationship  towards  me. 
I  regard  all  the  members  as  personal  friends.  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  they  watch  over  the  interests  of  the 
college  with  great  faithfulness. 

Along  with  the  increase  of  professors,  our  friends  have 
purchased  for  us  a  large  increase  of  scientific  apparatus. 
In  several  departments  almost  every  new  instrument  of 
value  has  been  provided.  When  I  came  here,  the  natural- 
science  collection,  saving  only  what  was  done  in  physical 
geography  by  Dr.  Guyot,  was  particularly  defective,  fit 
only  to  be  burned.  Now  we  have  most  valuable  collec- 
tions in  biology  and  geology.  For  several  years  we  have 
been  enabled  to  send  companies  of  students  to  make 
summer  explorations  in  the  West.  Lying  on  the  ground 
at  night,  they  were  employed  all  day  in  collecting  plants 
and  fossils,  some  of  which  are  very  rare  and  of  great 


208  JAMES  MCCOSH 

value.     These  have  been  placed  in  our  museum,  which  is 
visited  in  consequence  by  many  scientists. 

Our  professors  have  not  only  been  attending  to  their 
work  in  the  college  as  instructors,  but  have  been  widen- 
ing the  field  of  knowledge,  each  in  his  own  department. 
I  at  one  time  thought  of  printing  a  list  of  the  books, 
pamphlets,  and  articles  published  by  our  professors  since 
I  came  here,  but  I  found  that  it  would  take  sixty  pages 
to  do  it. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  students  issue  three  peri- 
odicals. "  The  Nassau  Literary  Magazine  "  has  all  along 
been  an  organ  of  a  high  character,  and  contains  solid 
articles  of  superior  literary  ability.  The  "  Princetonian  " 
some  years  ago  was  in  the  way  of  attacking  the  faculty. 
Now  it  is  conducted  in  the  most  admirable  spirit,  —  only 
it  gives  more  space  to  gymnastics  than  to  literature. 
"  Pray,"  said  an  Oxford  Don  to  me,  after  reading  several 
numbers,  "  are  you  the  president  of  a  gymnastic  institu- 
tion ? "  It  shows  the  spirit  that  reigns  in  our  college 
that  we  have  had  a  religious  organ,  the  "  Philadelphian," 
containing  high-class  articles  fitted  to  do  good  among  the 
students. 

Our  School  of  Science  has  a  body  of  able  professors. 
It  gives  instruction  in  mathematics,  in  the  various 
branches  of  physical  science,  and  in  modern  languages. 
We  seek  to  make  its  students  educated  gentlemen,  and 
not  mere  scientists.  We  require  Latin  (or,  in  engineering, 
French)  on  the  part  of  those  who  enter.  All  the  students 
receive  instruction  in  English,  and  write  essays.  To 
preserve  them  from  the  materialistic  tendencies  of  the 
day,  they  are  required  to  attend  the  classes  either  of 
Psychology  or  Logic.  It  is  evident  that  this  school, 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  209 

which  has  now  three  hundred  and  ninety-two  students, 
will  rise  every  year  in  public  estimation.  Our  two  de- 
partments, the  Academic  and  the  Scientific,  send  out 
every  year  a  large  body  of  educated  young  men  to  occupy 
important  positions  all  over  the  country. 

As  we  added  branch  after  branch,  it  was  found  that 
we  could  arrange  them,  the  old  and  the  new,  into  three 
grand  departments:  Language  and  Literature,  Science, 
and  Philosophy.  We  did  not  separate  these  absolutely, 
but  we  have  constantly  kept  the  distinction  in  view.  I 
remember  the  day  when  Mrs.  Eobert  L.  Stuart  came 
down  to  Princeton,  and  handed  me  $154,000,  to  enable 
me  to  establish  a  School  of  Philosophy. 

As  the  head  of  the  college,  I  have  endeavored  to  give 
each  of  our  varied  departments  its  own  place,  and  care- 
fully to  arrange  a  balance  of  studies,  so  as  to  keep  the 
minds  of  the  students  from  being  one-sided,  and  there- 
fore narrow  and  exclusive.  But  while  I  was  president 
I  became  also  a  professor,  and  I  am  glad  that  I  did  so, 
for  I  was  thereby  brought  into  closer  relationship  with 
the  students,  and  came  to  know  them  better. 

Following  my  tastes,  I  have  endeavored  to  create  and 
sustain  an  interest  in  all  branches  of  Mental  Philosophy. 
I  have  usually  been  teaching  three  departments :  Psy- 
chology, the  History  of  Philosophy,  and  Contemporary 
Philosophy,  and  have  branched  off  into  Esthetics  and 
Metaphysics.  The  other  two  mental  sciences,  Logic  and 
Ethics,  have  been  taught  by  Professor  Ormond  and  Pro- 
fessor Patton.  I  strove  to  make  the  study  attractive, 
and  have  commonly  had  under  me  upwards  of  two  hun- 
dred students,  many  of  them  elective.  In  connection 
with  my  classes  I  had  library  meetings  in  my  house, 

14 


210  JAMES  MCCOSH 

in  which  papers  were  read  on  philosophic  subjects  by 
alumni  and  others,  and  were  afterwards  discussed  by 
students  of  the  upper  classes,  and  occasionally  by  pro- 
fessors. The  attendance  was  at  first  about  a  dozen,  but 
it  soon  rose  to  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Many  will  remember  all  their  lives  the  stimulating 
effects  of  these  meetings. 

In  my  teaching,  I  have  followed  the  plan  of  the  Ger- 
man professors,  first  lecturing  on  the  subject,  and  after 
a  time  giving  my  expositions  to  the  world  in  published 
volumes.  The  public  has  not  always  followed  my  phi- 
losophy, but  has  given  me — what  greater  men  than  I  have 
not  been  able  to  gain  —  a  hearing,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Great  Britain.  I  am  gratified  to  find  my  college 
lectures  on  Psychology  and  Logic  in  a  great  many  upper 
schools,  and  in  a  number  of  colleges  in  America.  Dr. 
Duff,  the  great  missionary,  sent  me  a  message  on  his 
death-bed,  to  prepare  a  text-book  on  Mental  Science  for 
India,  to  save  them  from  materialism  diligently  taught 
them  by  books  from  England.  This  I  have  now  done  in 
my  two  small  volumes  on  Psychology,  which  have  been 
sanctioned  by  the  University  of  Calcutta,  while  steps  are 
being  taken  to  have  them  adopted  in  other  colleges  in 
India.  Pupils  of  mine  are  using  them  in  Japan  and 
Ceylon.  My  pupils  may  be  pleased  to  learn  that  the  lec- 
tures which  I  delivered  to  them  are  reproduced  in  these 
distant  lands.  So  early  as  my  college  days  in  Scotland, 
I  was  so  ambitious  as  to  hope  that  I  might  some  day 
produce  a  work  on  Philosophy;  little  did  I  dream  that 
it  would  be  used  in  Western  America  and  in  Eastern 
Asia. 

From  an  early  period  of  my  presidency  we  have  had 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  211 

post-graduate  students.  We  have  always  thrown  open 
our  doors  to  them.  We  encourage  them  because  it  is  out 
of  them  we  hope  to  make  scholars.  In  our  crowded  cir- 
riculum  we  cannot  expect  in  the  under-graduate  course 
of  study  to  produce  a  high  erudition  in  any  one  depart- 
ment; but  when  students  come  up  to  us  after  graduation, 
and  take  up  earnestly  one  or  two  departments,  we  can 
carry  them  on  to  very  high  attainments,  and  it  may 
be  prepare  them  to  be  professors.  The  number  of  our 
graduate  students  has  been  gradually  increasing;  this 
last  year  we  have  had  seventy-eight.  I  have  commonly 
had  upwards  of  forty,  most  of  them  students  from  the 
seminary,  studying  the  higher  questions  of  philosophy. 
These  graduate  classes  will  force  us  on  to  become  a 
university. 

We  have  devised  and  published  a  way  by  which 
higher  degrees  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy,  Doctor  of  Sci- 
ence, Doctor  of  Literature,  and  Bachelor  of  Theology 
may  be  obtained  from  us  by  the  graduates  of  any  college, 
without  residence,  by  pursuing  a  course  of  study  and 
standing  an  examination.  This  is  a  measure  full  of 
promise,  and  I  hope  will  be  carried  out  when  I  retire. 
It  will  gather  round  us  a  body  of  men  eagerly  pursuing 
high  studies. 

I  think  I  may  claim  to  have  taken  great  pains  to  keep 
our  graduates  in  close  connection  with  the  college.  I 
have  set  up  a  great  many  alumni  associations  (there  are 
in  all  eighteen),  and  have  often  visited  them,  travelling 
hundreds  and  some  years  thousands  of  miles  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  reporting  the  state  of  the  college  as  I  went 
along.  I  have  enjoyed  these  meetings  with  the  gradu- 
ates, and  have  returned  with  a  most  valuable  knowledge 


212  JAMES  MCCOSH 

of  what  the  community  expects  of  the  college.  I  pro- 
posed, several  years  ago,  that  the  alumni  should  have 
authority  to  appoint  an  advisory  committee,  with  power 
to  give  recommendations  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
to  enter  any  class-room.  The  proposal  was  not  adopted. 
It  may  come  up  in  some  future  year. 

I  am  not  to  give  an  account  of  our  finances,  which 
have  been  carefully  watched  over  by  Mr.  John  A. 
Stewart  and  Mr.  Charles  E.  Green.  Some  of  our  friends 
do  not  let  their  left  hand  know  what  their  right  hand 
doeth,  and  so  I  am  not  able  to  speak  with  precision  of 
the  gifts  we  have  received.  I  believe  that  nearly  three 
millions  have  been  contributed  to  the  college  during  my 
tenure  of  office.  The  principle  on  which  we  have  pro- 
ceeded has  been  never  to  contract  any  debt,  and  never  to 
lay  up  any  money.  Only  on  one  occasion  did  we  con- 
tract any  large  amount  of  debt,  and  Mr.  R  L.  Stuart, 
who  contributed  $100,000,  joined  some  of  our  trustees 
in  paying  it  off. 

I  may  mention  here  that,  to  encourage  struggling  young 
men,  we  have  funds  contributed  by  generous  friends 
whereby  we  give  scholarships  of  $100  a  year  each,  and 
$30  more  if  they  intend  to  be  ministers,  to  one  hundred 
and  seventy  students.  Dr.  Duffield  manages  these  funds 
with  great  care  and  kindness. 

I  am  sorry  that  my  space  does  not  allow  of  my  men- 
tioning the  names  of  the  many  contributors  to  our  college 
funds.  Some  of  them  have  been  referred  to  in  the  course 
of  my  narrative.  I  must  refer  to  a  few  others.  The 
Hon.  John  I.  Blair  has  watched  over  our  college  with 
very  great  care,  has  endowed  the  chair  of  Geology,  and 
has  lately  given  $20,000  to  the  increase  of  professors' 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  213 

salaries.  Mr.  Lynde  has  given  three  prizes  for  excel- 
lence in  debate.  A  gentleman  who  has  given  us  only 
his  initials  has  founded  a  Mathematical  Fellowship,  and 
a  large  prize  to  the  Freshman  class.  Mr.  Charles  0. 
Baird  has  furthered  oratory  hy  his  prizes  to  the  Junior 
class.  We  have  received  a  most  valuable  set  of  papers 
on  the  late  war  from  Mr.  Pierson.  You  may  notice  that 
kind  friends  have  enabled  me  to  complete  the  work 
begun  by  Dr.  Maclean,  and  to  hang  up  in  the  Museum 
portraits  of  all  the  presidents  of  the  college,  and  of  other 
eminent  men  connected  with  it. 

In  consequence  of  the  improvements  of  our  teaching 
and  our  courses,  our  numbers  have  been  slowly  but 
gradually  increasing. 

Years.  Students.  Years.  Students. 

In  1867-8  264  1878-9  473 

1868-9  281  1879-80  481 

1869-70  328  1880-1  488 

1870-1  364  1881-2  537 

1871-2  379  1882-3  572 

1872-3  376  1883-4  523 

1873-4  417  1884-5  519 

1874-5  408  1885-6  497 

1875-6  483  1886-7  539 

1876-7  472  1887-8  604 

1877-8  496 

It  will  be  thus  seen  that  our  numbers  have  more  than 
doubled  — •  from  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  to  upwards 
of  six  hundred. 

I  think  it  proper  to  state  that  I  meant  all  along  that 
these  new  and  varied  studies,  with  their  groupings  and 
combinations,  should  lead  to  the  formation  of  a  Studium 
Generale,  which  was  supposed  in  the  Middle  Ages  to 
constitute  a  university.  At  one  time  I  cherished  a  hope 


214  JAMES  MCCOSH 

that  I  might  be  honored  to  introduce  such  a  measure. 
From  my  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  systems  of 
Princeton  and  other  colleges,  I  was  so  vain  as  to  think 
that  out  of  our  available  materials  I  could  have  con- 
structed a  university  of  a  high  order.  I  would  have 
embraced  in  it  all  that  is  good  in  our  college;  in  par- 
ticular, I  would  have  seen  that  it  was  pervaded  with 
religion,  as  the  college  is.  I  was  sure  that  such  a  step 
would  have  been  followed  by  a  large  outflow  of  liberality 
on  the  part  of  the  public,  such  as  we  enjoyed  in  the  early 
days  of  my  presidency.  We  had  had  the  former  rain, 
and  I  hoped  we  might  have  the  latter  rain,  and  we  could 
have  given  the  institution  a  wider  range  of  usefulness  in 
the  introduction  of  new  branches  and  the  extension  of 
post-graduate  studies.  But  this  privilege  has  been  denied 
me.  I  have  always  been  prepared  to  contend  with  the 
enemies  of  the  college,  but  I  am  not  ready  to  fight  with 
its  greatest  benefactors;  so  I  retire.  The  college  has 
been  brought  to  the  very  borders,  and  I  leave  it  to 
another  to  carry  it  over  into  the  land  of  promise. 


CHAPTER  XTV 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL  —  TWENTY    YEARS    OP 
PRINCETON    (Continued) 


this  improvement  of  education  was  going  on, 
we  had  to  contend  against  degrading  college  cus- 
toms, some  of  which  have  come  down  from  colonial  times, 
and  were  copied  from  the  schools  of  England.  There  were 
"  rakes,  "  secretly  issued  by  the  members  of  one  class 
against  the  members  of  another.  We  had  horn-sprees  and 
foolish  bonfires  kindled  in  the  campus,  the  embers  often 
endangering  the  whole  college  buildings.  Worst  of  all,  we 
had  the  "  hazing  "  and  the  "  smoking  "  of  students.  I  re- 
solved to  put  down  these,  when  I  found  that  they  had  the 
serpent's  power  of  prolonged  life,  and  that  it  was  difficult 
to  kill  them.  I  tried  first  of  all  to  make  the  class  con- 
demn them,  and  often  succeeded  ;  but  at  times  we  had  to 
exercise  discipline  on  the  offenders,  who  were  commonly 
supported  by  a  considerable  body  of  students.  I  would 
not  be  giving  a  true  picture  of  the  times  when  I  entered 
on  my  duties  unless  I  mentioned  one  or  two  cases. 

At  that  time  morning  prayers  were  held  at  seven,  and 
the  students  came  out  rubbing  their  eyes,  with  their 
great-coats  thrown  loosely  over  their  shoulders,  and  but- 
toning their  clothes.  One  morning  I  saw  a  student  with 
his  head  all  "  shaven  and  shorn.  "  I  called  up  a  tutor, 
and  asked  him  whether  the  student  had  had  fever. 


216  JAMES  MCCOSH 

"  No, "  said  he ;  "  did  you  not  hear  that  he  had  been 
hazed  ?  "  I  told  him  that  I  had  not,  but  added  that  the 
whole  college  would  hear  of  it  before  we  had  done  with  it. 
Knowing  that  if  I  called  the  hazed  student  to  my  house 
it  would  only  be  to  expose  him  to  farther  indignity,  I 
asked  a  professor  to  give  me  the  use  of  his  study,  and 
invited  the  student  to  meet  me  there.  When  I  asked 
how  he  felt  on  being  hazed,  he  replied,  "  Very  indig- 
nant. "  I  said  I  was  glad  to  hear  it.  He  told  me  that 
a  company  of  students,  disguised,  had  come  into  his 
room  late  at  night,  that  they  gagged  his  mouth  lest  he 
should  cry,  and  his  ears  lest  he  should  identify  them ; 
that  they  had  shaved  his  head,  then  put  him  under  the 
pump,  and  left  him  tied  on  the  campus.  I  asked  him 
if  he  had  any  friends.  He  answered,  "  Few,  sir ;  I  am  a 
poor  Irish  boy,  but  one  man  has  helped  me ;  "  naming 
Chancellor  Green.  "  My  dear  fellow,  you  have  a  noble 
friend. "  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Chancellor,  and  ordered 
the  student  to  set  off  with  it  next  morning  before  dawn, 
and  tell  what  had  been  done  to  him.  Next  morning,  a 
little  after  eight,  I  saw  the  noble  form  of  the  Chancellor 
pass  my  window  and  enter  my  study.  Hitherto  he  had 
been  very  cold  toward  me, —  I  believe  he  did  not  see  the 
propriety  of  bringing  over  a  Scotchman  to  be  the  head  of 
an  American  college.  He  asked  me  somewhat  sternly, 
"  Are  you  in  earnest  ?  "  I  answered  that  I  was  never  more 
in  earnest  in  my  life.  "  But, "  said  he,  "  I  have  often 
found  when  I  tried  to  uphold  the  college  in  putting  down 
evils  there  was  a  weak  yielding. "  I  told  him  that  he 
might  find  that  this  was  not  just  my  character.  He 
asked  me  what  I  meant  to  do.  I  answered  that  I  was  a 
stranger,  newly  come  to  this  country,  that  I  had  asked 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  217 

for  a  conference  with  him  —  an  alumnus,  a  trustee,  and 
as  the  head  of  the  law  in  New  Jersey  —  to  ask  his  advice. 
"  Can  you  not, "  said  he,  "  summon  the  perpetrators  before 
the  faculty  ? "  "  Yes, "  I  replied,  "  but  I  have  little  evi- 
dence to  proceed  on.  The  student  thinks  he  knows  two 
of  those  who  gagged  him,  but  is  not  sure ;  and  students 
capable  of  such  deeds  reckon  it  no  crime  to  lie  to  the 
faculty.  "  "  What  then  are  we  to  do  ?  "  I  replied  that  I 
wished  him  to  say.  But  he  again  asked,  "  Are  you  in 
earnest  ?  "  I  said  "  he  might  try  me. "  He  then  pro- 
posed that  we  should  start  a  criminal  process,  and  said 
he  would  engage  the  attorney-general  as  prosecutor,  and 
would  see  that  the  jury  was  not  packed.  I  said,  "  I 
accept  your  terms, "  and  added,  "  You  may  now  go  home, 
Chancellor,  the  case  is  settled.  *  He  asked,  "  What  do 
you  mean  ?  "  looking  at  me  with  amazement  I  simply 
mentioned  that  I  had  been  dealing  with  students  for  six- 
teen years,  and  knew  that  the  case  was  settled.  I  felt 
that  the  time  was  come  when  I  should  be  as  cold  to  him 
as  he  had  been  to  me.  I  thanked  him  for  coming  to  me 
when  I  meant  to  go  to  him,  and  bade  him  good-morning. 
I  asked  a  professor  to  send  for  one  of  the  students  sup- 
posed to  have  been  guilty,  and  to  tell  him  that  the  great 
Chancellor  had  been  here,  that  he  was  that  day  to  engage 
the  attorney -general  as  prosecutor,  and  that  if  the  guilty 
parties  did  not  send  me  an  apology  in  forty -eight  hours 
they  would  all  be  in  prison.  In  a  few  hours  I  received 
a  humble  letter,  signed  by  about  a  dozen  students,  con- 
fessing that  they  were  guilty,  expressing  their  sorrow, 
and  promising  that  they  would  never  commit  a  like 
offence.  I  sent  a  message  to  the  professors,  asking  them 
to  be  in  their  place  next  morning  at  prayers,  and  the 


218  JAMES  MCCOSH 

students  were  prepared  for  something  to  come  when  they 
saw  them  all  assembled.  I  took  out  the  paper  sent  me, 
and  read  it  till  I  came  to  the  signatures,  when  I  put  it 
in  my  pocket,  saying,  "  I  accept  the  apology  and  the 
promise,  and  neither  the  faculty  nor  any  other  shall  ever 
know  the  names.  Let  us  read  the  passsage  on  repent- 
ance, 2  Cor.  vii.  "  I  never  saw  the  college  more  moved. 

For  some  years  hazing  was  considerably  subdued ;  but 
it  continued  in  other  colleges  which  have  not  had  the 
courage  to  grapple  with  it,  and  has  reappeared  in  this 
college  once  and  again,  and  has  led  to  some  very  painful 
scenes.  It  has  for  the  present  disappeared,  as  I  retire  from 
the  presidency,  I  trust  finally. 

As  a  happy  consequence  of  this  act  I  gained  the  friend- 
ship of  Chancellor  Green,  who  ever  afterwards  stood  by 
me  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  beyond  it,  telling  those 
who  opposed  my  measures  that  in  opposing  me  they 
would  have  to  oppose  him.  His  family  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  college,  and  have  been  our  most  gener- 
ous benefactors.  I  was  gratified  when  his  family  asked 
me  to  be  a  mourner  at  the  funeral  of  that  man,  one  of 
the  greatest  that  New  Jersey  has  produced.1 

I  may  state  that  this  was  the  first  and  last  case  in 
which  I  resolved  to  carry  discipline  into  a  criminal  court. 
I  thought  it  right  to  let  the  college  know  that  the  crim- 
inal courts  could  interfere  in  such  a  case ;  but  it  is  better 
that  the  faculty  should  exercise  discipline  in  a  paternal 
spirit  Another  incident  may  be  given.  A  company 
resolved  to  "  smoke  "  a  student.  They  entered  his  room, 

1  Mr.  Courtland  Parker  said  to  me,  as  we  rode  in  the  same  carriage  at 
Chancellor  Green's  funeral,  "  When  the  Chancellor  summed  up  the  evi- 
dence and  addressed  the  criminal  condemned  to  die,  I  always  felt  that  I 
had  a  picture  of  the  Day  of  Judgment." 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  219 

vigorously  puffing  out  tobacco  fumes,  hoping  thereby  to 
sicken  him.  The  faculty  sent  them  home  to  their  fathers 
and  mothers.  At  the  close  of  one  of  my  Bible  recitations 
about  twenty  students  remained  behind,  and  asked  to 
speak  with  me,  and  they  spoke  feelingly  of  the  pain 
which  the  dismissal  of  their  companions  would  give  to 
fathers  and  mothers  and  grandmothers.  I  saw  at  once 
that  I  had  before  me,  not  those  who  had  been  engaged  in 
the  foul  deed,  but  the  best  students  in  the  class,  who  had 
been  elected  as  most  likely  to  have  an  influence  over 
me.  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  catch  them  in  the 
trap  which  they  had  laid  for  me.  I  said  to  them,  "  Do 
you  approve  of  the  deed  which  has  been  done  ? "  "  No, " 
they  answered  heartily.  "  But  how, "  I  asked,  "  do  you 
propose  to  stop  such  acts  ?  "  They  were  staggered.  I 
saw  out  of  the  window  two  hundred  students  gathered 
like  a  thunder-cloud  on  the  campus,  threatening  rebel- 
lion. I  said,  *  Gentlemen,  go  out  to  these  students  and 
ask  them  to  pass  a  resolution  condemning  the  offensive 
practice ;  "  and  I  promised  that  if  they  did  so  I  would 
ask  the  faculty  to  rescind  their  sentence.  I  passed  by 
the  crowd  on  my  way  home,  and  heard  a  student 
denouncing  the  abominable  deed  that  had  been  com- 
mitted by  the  students.  The  company  was  divided 
and  soon  scattered.  They  had  planned  on  that  after- 
noon to  rise  in  a  body  and  leave  the  chapel.  No  one 
rose,  and  the  threatening  cloud  passed  away. 

When  these  emeutes  took  place  we  were  always  favored 
with  the  visits  of  interviewers  from  the  New  York  news- 
papers. I  remember  that  one  day  when  I  was  coming 
down  from  New  York,  I  had  a  dozen  reporters  on  the 
same  train,  all  bent  on  carrying  back  a  sensational  story 


220  JAMES  MCCOSH 

founded  on  some  small  disturbance  which  had  occurred 
the  night  before.  At  one  of  these  times  a  reporter  from 
a  reputable  journal  called  on  me  for  information.  I  told 
him  that  I  would  give  him  this,  but  that  he  must  pub- 
lish what  I  said  to  him,  which  he  agreed  to  do,  and  so  I 
began  :  "  Whereas  a  certain  newspaper, "  naming  it,  "  had 
been  publishing  vile  stories  against  Princeton  College, 
evidently  written  by  sub-editors  from  a  rival  college,  the 
alumni  and  students  of  Princeton  are  about  to  form  a 
combination  in  which  each  member  binds  himself  never 
to  buy  a  copy  of  that  paper. "  The  reporter  wrote  a 
while,  and  then  put  his  pen  behind  his  ear,  and  said, 
"President,  this  will  never  do,"  and  promised  to  speak 
to  the  editor ;  and  in  a  day  or  two  after  the  editor  wrote 
me,  asking  me  to  appoint  a  reporter  from  among  the 
students,  and  we  were  troubled  no  more  from  that 
quarter. 

I  mention  these  things  in  order  to  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  explaining  that  these  scenes  of  disturbance, 
which  were  reported  years  ago  in  so  exaggerated  a  form, 
almost  always  rose  from  our  putting  down  debasing  cus- 
toms. I  could  not  in  dignity  answer  the  distorted 
reports,  and  many  believed  them.  We  have  now, 
happily,  put  down  all  these  old  barbarous  customs,  and 
of  late  years  I  have  no  complaint  to  make  of  the  news- 
paper press.  It  seems  inclined  to  speak  good  of  us 
rather  than  evil;  as  to  myself,  I  am  sure  it  praises, 
vastly  more  than  they  deserve,  the  efforts  I  have  made 
for  the  advancement  of  the  college. 

I  do  not  wish  to  fight  old  battles  over  again,  but  if  I 
am  to  give  a  correct  account  of  the  period,  I  must  mention 
the  important  historical  events. 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  221 

When  I  became  connected  with  Princeton,  the  secret 
Greek  Letter  Fraternities  had  considerable  power  in  the 
college.  The  trustees,  years  before,  had  passed  a  law 
requiring  every  entering  student  to  come  under  a  solemn 
obligation  to  have  no  connection  whatever  with  any  secret 
society.  I  felt  from  the  beginning  that  the  college  was 
in  this  respect  in  a  very  unhappy  position,  the  students 
signing  a  pledge  which  a  number  of  them  knowingly 
violated.  On  inquiry  I  discovered  that  while  some  of 
the  societies  did  mean  to  foster  pleasant  social  feelings, 
and  to  create  a  taste  for  oratory,  yet  their  influence  was 
upon  the  whole  for  evil.  I  soon  found  that  the  societies 
sought  to  get  the  college  honors  to  their  members,  and 
to  support  those  who  were  under  college  discipline.  I 
felt  that  as  the  head  of  the  college  I  must  put  an  end  to 
this  state  of  things. 

I  was  powerfully  aided,  or  rather  led  in  carrying  this 
out,  by  the  late  Dr.  Atwater,  who  had  more  credit  than 
I  in  suppressing  the  secret  societies.  One  courageous 
student  set  himself  vigorously  to  oppose  the  attempt  to 
get  the  college  honors  for  members  of  the  fraternities. 
The  difficulty  was  to  get  evidence ;  but  certain  lodges  got 
photographs  taken  of  their  members.  These  fell  into 
our  hands.  The  offenders  stood  clearly  before  us.  I 
summoned  them  before  the  faculty.  They  did  not  deny 
the  charge,  and  we  sent  them  homa  In  a  short  time 
each  sent  in  a  paper  in  which  he  promised  to  give  up, 
while  in  college,  all  connection  with  secret  societies.  I 
retained  these  papers  for  a  time  to  secure  that  the  promise 
should  be  kept,  but  I  have  shown  them  to  no  one.  The 
faculty  restored  the  students,  who,  I  believe,  kept  their 
word.  Now  the  great  body  of  the  students  would 


222  JAMES  MCCOSH 

earnestly  oppose  the  reintroduction  of  these  fraternities 
into  our  college.  Most  of  the  professors  in  the  American 
colleges  profess  to  lament  the  existence  of  such  societies, 
but  have  not  the  courage  to  suppress  them.  I  am  sorry 
to  find  that  of  late  some  eminent  men  belonging  to  other 
colleges  have  been  defending  these  secret  organizations. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  arising  from  the  Greek  letter 
societies  is  that  they  tended  to  lessen  the  numbers  and 
usefulness  of  our  two  noble  societies, —  the  Whig  and  the 
Cliosophic.  These  form  an  essential  part  of  our  educa- 
tional system.  They  have  done  as  much  good  as  any 
other  department  of  our  college  teaching.  They  have 
helped  mightily  to  prepare  our  young  men  for  the  pulpit, 
the  bar,  and  the  senate.  I  may  be  permitted  to  suggest 
that  the  customs  connected  with  initiation  into  the  Halls 
might  be  profitably  abandoned.  I  farther  think  that  the 
societies  should  be  so  opened  that  from  time  to  time 
each  should  have  great  public  debates  open  to  ladies  as 
well  as  gentlemen.  Not  till  then  can  we  have  the 
highest  style  of  popular  eloquence. 

I  feel  a  great  pride  in  remembering  that  I  intro- 
duced gymnastics  into  the  college.  The  sentence  of  my 
inaugural,  in  which  I  declared  that  there  should  be 
exercises  in  the  colleges  to  strengthen  the  bodily  frame, 
called  forth  acclamations  so  loud  that  they  might  have 
carried  the  roof  off  the  building.  Since  that  time  gym- 
nastics have  had  an  important  place  under  careful  super- 
intendents, and  our  students  have  manfully  kept  their 
own.  From  the  gymnastic  exercises  within  our  walls 
and  grounds  much  good  has  arisen  and  no  evil.  The 
bodily  frames  of  our  students  have  been  strengthened, 
and  their  health  sustained  by  the  manly  exercises,  while 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  223 

habits  of  mental  agility  and  self-possession  have  been 
acquired,  of  great  use  in  preparing  young  men  for  the 
active  duties  of  life. 

But  there  may  be,  there  have  been,  evils  arising  from 
the  abuse  of  competitive  games,  especially  with  profes- 
sionals. The  applause  given  may  create  an  enthusiasm 
which  should  rather  be  directed  to  study.  Some  may 
prefer  the  approving  shout  of  ten  thousand  spectators  on 
the  ball-field  to  the  earning  of  a  class  honor  or  a  uni- 
versity fellowship.  The  youth  who  can  skilfully  throw  a 
ball  may  be  more  highly  esteemed  than  one  of  high  schol- 
arship or  character.  Your  strutting  college  heroes  may 
consist  of  men  who  have  merely  powerful  arms  and  legs. 

It  is  acknowledged  that  some  of  our  greatest  gymnasts 
have  been  as  scholarly  and  pious  as  any  members  of  their 
class.  There  is  no  necessary  or  even  usual  connection 
between  gymnastic  eminence  and  immorality ;  but  there 
may  be  some  half-dozen  or  ten  in  each  class  of  a  hundred 
who  devote  so  much  time  and  mind  to  the  games  that 
they  neglect  their  studies,  and  virtually  lose  their  college 
year.  The  games  may  be  accompanied  with  betting  and 
drinking.  They  may  tend  in  some  cases  to  produce  the 
manners  of  a  bully  or  a  jockey  rather  than  of  a  scholar 
or  a  cultivated  gentleman.  The  talk  of  the  students  in 
the  campus  may  be  more  about  the  nice  points  of  foot- 
ball than  of  literature  or  science.  The  style  of  gaming 
may  become  professional  instead  of  being  promotive  of 
health,  and  the  great  body  of  the  students,  instead  of 
joining  in  the  exercises,  may  stand  by  and  look  idly  on, 
others  playing. 

The  question  presses  itself  upon  us,  "  How  are  we  to 
get  the  acknowledged  good  without  the  accompanying 


224  JAMES  MCCOSH 

evils  ?  "  The  question  is  keenly  discussed ;  I  hope  it 
will  continue  to  be  discussed  till  it  is  satisfactorily 
settled.  Twice  have  I  made  the  attempt  to  bring  the 
principal  Eastern  colleges  to  an  agreement.  The  col- 
leges were  willing  to  unite,  except  one  or  two,  who  trade 
upon  their  gymnastic  eminence  to  gain  students.  As 
these  stood  out  nothing  could  be  done.  But  things  have 
come  to  a  crisis.  Harvard  and  Yale  now  profess  to  see 
the  evils  that  arise  from  competitive  games.  Let  the 
discussion  continue ;  let  it  be  publicly  conducted ;  let  it 
be  known  what  position  each  college  takes ;  let  fathers 
and  mothers  say  what  they  wish  for  their  sons ;  let  the 
public  press  speak  boldly.  The  issue  within  the  next 
few  years  will  be  that  we  shall  have  the  good  without  the 
evil.  Meanwhile,  let  Princeton  proclaim  that  her  repu- 
tation does  not  depend  on  her  skill  in  throwing  or  kicking 
a  ball,  but  on  the  scholarship  and  the  virtue  of  her  sons. 

If  any  one  tells  me  that  in  a  college  with  hundreds  of 
students  there  is  no  vice,  he  is  either  deceiving  himself 
or  is  endeavoring  to  deceive  others.  We  acknowledge 
that  there  are  evils  in  our  college,  but  we  do  all  we  can 
to  repress  them.  Of  late  years  there  has  been  very  little 
vicious  conduct  in  Princeton  College ;  what  exists  is 
obliged  to  hide  itself.  The  great  body  of  the  students 
discountenance  it,  and  do  not,  as  they  were  often  tempted 
to  do  in  former  years,  defend  those  who  may  be  under 
discipline. 

I  hold  that  in  every  college  the  faculty  should  look 
after,  not  only  the  intellectual  improvement,  but  also 
the  morals  of  those  committed  to  their  care  by  parents 
and  guardians.  I  am  afraid  that  both  in  Europe  and 
America  all  idea  of  looking:  after  the  character  of  students 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  225 

has  been  given  up  by  many  of  our  younger  professors. 
Their  feeling  is,  "  I  am  bound  to  give  instruction  in  my 
department,  and  to  advance  the  study  in  all  quarters; 
but  as  to  looking  after  the  private  character  of  any 
student,  I  do  not  recognize  it  to  be  part  of  my  duty,  and 
I  shrink  from  it,  I  decline  to  undertake  it. "  I  have 
been  very  careful  not  to  let  this  spirit  get  abroad  among 
our  young  instructors.  Oar  law  enjoins  that  every  pro- 
fessor is  bound  in  duty  to-  watch  over  the  welfare  of  the 
students,  many  of  whom  are  far  from  home.  We  have  a 
tutor  or  officer  in  every  college  building,  whose  office  it  is 
to  see  that  those  living  there  conduct  themselves  properly. 

We  have  abandoned  the  spy  system,  and  our  officers  do 
not  peep  in  at  windows,  or  through  keyholes,  —  a  prac- 
tice at  which  the  student  would  generally  contrive  to 
outwit  his  guardian.  With  us  everything  is  open  and 
above  board.  We  proceed  on  the  principle  that  the  col- 
lege stands  in  loco  parentis.  The  youth  is  treated  as  he 
would  be  by  a  parent  We  listen  patiently  to  every  one 
against  whom  a  suspicion  is  entertained,  or  a  charge 
brought  We  dismiss  no  one  without  evidence,  and 
latterly  there  is  rarely,  if  ever,  a  case  in  which  the  cul- 
prit does  not  confess  his  guilt.  Our  penalties  consist  in 
sending  home  the  youth  for  a  shorter  or  longer  time  to 
his  parents,  that  they  may  deal  with  him. 

For  sixteen  years  I  had  the  somewhat  invidious  task 
of  looking  after  the  morals  and  discipline  of  the  college. 
Since  that  time  this  important  work  has  been  committed 
to  Dean  Murray,  who  has  shown  more  patience  than  I 
did  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Parents  may  be 
satisfied  when  they  know  that  he  is  looking  after  the 
best  welfare  of  their  sons. 

15 


226  JAMES  MCCOSH 

I  could  weep  this  day,  if  I  did  not  restrain  myself, 
over  some  who  have  fallen  when  with  us.  But  I  am 
able  to  say  that  when  parents  join  with  us  in  the  exer- 
cise of  discipline,  it  commonly  succeeds  in  accomplishing 
its  end,  —  the  reformation  of  the  offender.  We  have  the 
privilege  and  the  advantage  of  a  great  many  of  the  youths 
sent  us  having  been  well  trained  at  home.  I  am  able  to 
testify  that  God  has  been  faithful  to  his  promise,  "  Train 
up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old, 
he  will  not  depart  from  it.  " 

There  is  a  much  more  pleasant  relationship  between 
the  professors  and  the  students  of  late  years.  It  is  a 
much  easier  thing  now  to  govern  the  college.  This  is 
especially  so  since  a  provision  has  been  made  for  a  con- 
ference between  the  faculty  and  an  elected  committee  of 
the  students  as  to  judicial  cases.  I  doubt  much  whether 
such  a  measure  could  have  been  made  to  work  beneficially 
in  some  earlier  years,  as  the  students  might  have  chosen 
representatives  to  fight  with  the  faculty.  This  confer- 
ence, long  contemplated  by  me,  has  been  carried  into 
effect  by  Dean  Murray,  with  the  happiest  results. 

I  believe  the  moral  tone  of  the  college  is,  upon  the 
whole,  sound  at  this  present  moment  Lately  the 
students,  with  my  consent  and  approval,  held  a  mass- 
meeting,  and  denounced  the  base  men  who  send  them 
obscene  publications  by  mail.  At  the  same  meeting 
they  voted  unanimously  for  No  License  in  this  town, 
and  helped  greatly  in  carrying  this  measure  in  the  borough. 
I  cannot  tell  how  happy  I  am  to  think  that  when  I  give 
up  my  office  in  the  college,  there  is  not  a  place  for  the 
sale  of  spirituous  liquors  in  all  Princeton. 


CHAPTER  XV 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TWENTY    YEARS     OF 

PRINCETON    (Continued) 

T^ROM  the  beginning  Princeton  has  been  a  religious 
college,  professedly  and  really.  It  has  given  instruc- 
tion weekly  on  the  Bible,  and  has  required  attendance  at 
prayers  daily,  and  on  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath. 
The  prayers  in  the  chapel  are  conducted  by  the  president 
and  professors  in  their  turn,  and  the  preaching  by  those 
of  us  who  are  ministers,  and  very  frequently  now  by 
eminent  divines  who  are  invited  to  visit  us.  Dean 
Murray  conducts  public  worship  with  great  acceptance 
once  a  fortnight.  Our  Sabbath  services  of  late  years  are 
not  found  to  be  tedious  by  the  students.  Every  Sabbath 
afternoon  at  five  there  is  a  meeting  of  the  whole  college 
for  prayer,  and  a  ten-minutes'  address,  which  is  com- 
monly interesting  as  well  as  useful. 

There  is  much  talk  in  certain  quarters  of  the  impor- 
tance of  giving  instruction  in  the  English  Bible  in  col- 
leges. Let  me  tell  those  who  are  recommending  this  to 
us,  that  this  has  always  been  done  in  Princeton.  We  are 
not  ashamed,  neither  professors  nor  students,  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ 

In  entering  upon  my  work  here  I  found  some  difficulty 
in  inducing  those  who  had  previously  conducted  religious 
instruction  to  continue  to  do  so,  so  I  undertook  the  whole 


228  JAMES  MCCOSH 

work  myself.  For  eight  years  I  gave  Bible  instruction 
weekly  to  every  student.  My  course  lasted  four  years, 
and  in  these  I  carried  the  students  in  a  general  way 
through  the  Bible. 

I  am  not  sure  that  I  acted  wisely  in  undertaking  all 
this  work.  At  the  end  of  the  eight  years  I  divided  the 
work  among  several  others,  reserving  always  to  myself 
an  important  part,  —  the  Pentateuch  and  the  Epistle  to 
the  Eomans,  —  on  which  the  Seniors  were  required  to 
recite.  Latterly  I  have  given  up  the  whole  Bible 
instruction  to  seven  or  eight  others.  Dean  Murray  gives 
instruction  to  the  Seniors  in  the  doctrinal  teachings  of 
the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles. 

The  majority  of  the  students  have  always  been  pro- 
fessors of  religion.  One  year  there  were  two-thirds,  and 
this  year  there  are  three-fifths.  I  am  able  to  testify  that 
these  students  as  a  whole,  and  with  some  human  infirm- 
ities, live  consistently  with  the  profession  which  they 
make.  At  this  present  time  we  have  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  names  on  the  roll  of  the  Philadelphia  Society, 
which  is  the  special  religious  association  of  the  college, 
and  which  has  been  the  centre  of  the  spiritual  life  among 
us  for  many  years. 

We  have  had  our  times  of  gracious  revival.  I  remem- 
ber one  year  which  began  with  a  season  of  great  religious 
apathy.  The  number  attending  our  prayer-meetings  was 
very  small,  —  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty.  But  we  had  a 
few  devoted  men,  some  of  whom  had  come  from  another 
college,  who  prayed  as  earnestly  as  ever  men  prayed, 
saying  to  God,  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou 
bless  me. " 

One  night  there  was  heard  in  our  campus  the  noise 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  229 

of  a  company  who  had  been  drinking.  We  summoned 
before  the  faculty  a  number  of  students,  whose  names 
had  been  called  as  they  were  returning  to  their  rooms. 
We  had  difficulty  in  making  them  confess.  After  deal- 
ing for  more  than  an  hour  with  one  young  man,  —  now 
a  lawyer  in  high  standing,  —  in  which  he  continued 
parrying  me  off,  he  burst  out :  "  President,  I  can  stand 
this  no  longer.  I  was  drinking,  and  I  fear  I  am  getting 
fond  of  drink. "  We  sent  the  band  home  for  a  time. 
They  returned,  deploring  their  conduct.  Our  act  of  dis- 
cipline was  blessed  by  God.  The  college  was  moved, 
many  betook  themselves  to  prayer.  Prayer-meetings 
were  numerous  and  earnest.  Dozens  were  converted,  and 
have  ever  since  continued  steadfast  in  the  faith. 

In  1876  we  had  a  deep  religious  revival.  Meetings 
for  conference  and  prayers  were  held  by  the  students 
every  day  and  every  night.  Every  student,  indeed  every 
member  of  the  college,  felt  awed  and  subdued.  It  was 
estimated  that  upwards  of  one  hundred  were  converted. 
I  know  that  the  great  body  of  them,  if  not  all,  have  con- 
tinued faithful,  are  leading  consistent  lives,  and  are 
doing  good  over  wide  regions  in  this  land  and  in  others. 
On  one  occasion  some  strange  fire  mingled  at  times  with 
the  fire  from  off  the  altar  of  God.  There  was  a  jealousy 
of  the  faculty  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  the  students. 
Some  of  the  strangers  who  came  here  to  address  them 
kept  studiously  away  from  the  president  and  professors, 
lest  it  should  be  thought  that  the  work  was  a  scheme  of 
the  college  authorities ;  but  the  few  evils  that  appeared 
were  overwhelmed  and  lost  sight  of  in  the  midst  of  the 
good  that  was  done.  When  the  excitement  was  some- 
what dying  down,  the  students  felt  the  need  of  the  wise 


230  JAMES  MCCOSH 

counsel  of  their  college  instructors,  and  came  to  put 
confidence  in  them. 

In  later  years  the  religious  interest  has  not  so  often 
taken  the  form  of  what  is  called  a  revival ;  but  all  along 
we  have  had,  every  year  or  two,  seasons  of  deep  religious 
earnestness,  as  in  1870,  in  1872,  in  1874,  in  1882,  in 
1886.  At  the  beginning  of  this  year  we  had  such  a  time 
on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  Professor  Drummond  and 
two  professors  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  At 
these  times  the  meetings  for  prayer  were  frequent  and 
well  attended,  and  there  were  short  meetings  for  worship 
conducted  by  students  in  the  college  entries,  about  nine 
at  night,  to  which  all  students  in  the  entry  were  invited. 
On  these  occasions  pains  were  taken  to  secure  that  every 
student,  especially  such  as  had  made  no  profession  of 
religion,  was  spoken  to  about  the  state  of  his  soul. 
It  may  be  said  truly  that  no  student  has  left  our  college 
without  the  way  of  salvation  having  been  made  known 
from  the  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath,  by  the  weekly  Bible 
instruction  of  professors,  and  by  the  repeated  personal 
appeals  of  his  pious  fellow-students. 

In  1877  a  convention  was  held  in  Louisville  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  societies  for  Christian  work  in 
every  college.  One  of  our  professors,  Dr.  Libbey,  was 
induced  to  become  a  leader  in  this  movement.  He  and 
Mr.  Wishard,  a  student  of  ours  engaged  as  secretary, 
visited  a  great  many  of  the  colleges  of  the  country,  and 
succeeded  in  establishing  Christian  associations  in  them. 
These  have  ever  since  been  the  centres  of  religious  life, 
and  have  great  influence  in  promoting  religion  in  the 
colleges.  By  means  of  them  the  colleges  can  combine 
to  further  any  good  cause.  They  are  in  friendly  rela- 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRIXCETON  231 

tionship  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of 
America, 

In  1886  two  of  our  students,  Mr.  Wilder  and  Mr. 
Forman,  sons  of  missionaries,  being  stimulated  by  resid- 
ing in  the  summer  in  Northfield,  under  Mr.  Moody, 
resolved  to  visit  the  colleges  in  New  England,  Canada, 
and  the  Middle  States,  in  order  to  engage  students, 
young  men  and  young  women,  to  devote  themselves  to 
the  work  of  the  Lord  as  missionaries  in  the  foreign  field. 
They  succeeded  in  getting  no  fewer  than  twenty-five 
hundred  to  profess  their  readiness  to  go  where  Christ 
might  require.  This  is,  I  believe,  a  genuine  work.  At 
this  present  time  there  is  a  very  deep  interest,  greater 
than  has  ever  been  before,  in  foreign  missions  among  the 
students  of  the  college  and  seminary.  A  meeting  for 
prayer  is  held  after  the  morning  service  in  the  chapel, 
attended  by  about  thirty  persons,  all  purposing  to  go 
abroad  as  missionaries.  A  year  ago  the  college  students 
raised  the  funds  to  pay  a  missionary,  and  Mr.  Forman 
has  been  sent  out  as  the  Princeton  College  missionary  to 
India.  Princeton  College,  during  my  presidency,  has 
sent  out  at  least  three  hundred  men  as  ministers,  or 
preparing  for  the  ministry.  I  know  of  at  least  twenty- 
five  missionaries  sent  out  during  the  same  period  to  the 
foreign  field. 

Thank  God,  we  have  had  scarcely  any  avowed  infidelity 
among  us.  Not  above  half  a  dozen  out  of  our  two  thou- 
sand and  more  students  have  left  us  declaring  that  they 
had  no  religious  belief.  Several  of  this  small  number 
have  since  become  decided  Christians.  The  truth  which 
had  been  addressed  to  them  here  stuck  as  a  barbed  arrow 
in  their  hearts,  till  God  gave  them  relief.  One  young 


232  JAMES  MCCOSH 

man  while  here  had  set  himself  against  all  religion. 
Three  years  after  graduation  he  was  elected  to  deliver 
the  master's  oration,  and  he  came  back  among  us  to  give 
a  noble  defence  of  the  truth.  On  another  occasion,  I 
sent  for  a  young  man  who  had  just  graduated,  of  whom 
I  feared  that  he  had  no  religious  faith.  After  talking 
with  him  seriously,  I  asked  if  he  would  allow  me  to 
pray  with  him.  He  declined,  saying  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  a  God  to  whom  to  pray.  So  we  parted.  I 
had  hope  of  him,  knowing  that  he  had  a  pious  mother. 
I  gave  him  a  letter  which  helped  him  to  get  a  govern- 
ment position  in  Washington.  Some  years  after,  I  had 
occasion  to  deliver  some  lectures  in  Cincinnati,  and  was 
living  in  a  hotel  there.  A  stranger,  who  turned  out  to 
have  graduated  at  Princeton  before  my  day,  came  up  to 
me  and  asked,  "  How  is  it  that  you  make  infidels  in 
Princeton  ?  "  I  answered  that  this  was  not  just  our  voca- 
tion. He  then  began  to  tell  me  of  a  young  man  who 
lived  in  the  same  boarding-house  with  him  in  Washing- 
ton, who  had  been  an  open-mouthed  infidel,  perpetually 
quoting  Huxley  and  Spencer,  and  avowing  himself  an 
agnostic.  I  guessed  who  the  young  man  was  at  once. 
After  keeping  me  in  a  state  of  anxiety  for  a  time,  he 
said  that  he  might  be  able  to  report  something  that 
would  gratify  me,  and  he  told  me  that  this  young  man 
had  gone  to  his  mother  to  convert  her ;  "  But, "  he  added, 
"  she  floored  him, "  and  now  he  is  a  member  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  is  delivering  addresses 
on  religion.  Not  long  after,  this  youth  called  on  me 
with  his  newly-married  wife.  On  the  same  chair  on 
which  he  was  seated  when  he  declined  to  pray  with  me 
he  now  asked  me  to  pray  with  him.  He  is  now  a  min- 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON          233 

ister  of  the  gospel,  and  when  I  saw  him  last  he  was 
purposing  to  become  a  missionary.  I  pray  that  there 
may  be  a  like  issue  in  the  case  of  the  few  who  are  still 
wandering. 

Happily,  I  have  never  had  any  difficulty  in  dealing 
with  students  on  the  religious  question.  I  have  had 
under  me  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  of  all  denom- 
inations, Jews,  and  heathen.  I  have  religiously  guarded 
the  sacred  rights  of  conscience.  I  have  never  insisted 
on  any  one  attending  a  religious  service  to  which  he 
conscientiously  objected.  With  scarcely  an  exception, 
the  students  have  attended  our  daily  morning  prayers 
in  the  chapel,  and  also  our  weekly  religious  instruction. 
We  allow  them  to  go  to  their  own  place  of  worship  on 
the  Sabbath.  The  Episcopalians  have  a  St.  Paul's 
Society,  which  we  encourage.  It  is  an  interesting  fact 
that  during  all  my  presidency  no  one  has  left  the  Presby- 
terian Church  while  in  college  to  join  any  other 
communion. 

In  the  instruction  we  give  by  lectures  and  recitations, 
we  do  not  subject  religion  to  science ;  but  we  are  equally 
careful  not  to  subject  science  to  religion.  We  give  to 
each  its  own  independent  place,  supported  by  its  own 
evidence.  We  give  to  science  the  things  that  belong  to 
science,  and  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's.  When  a 
scientific  theory  is  brought  before  us,  our  first  inquiry  is 
not  whether  it  is  consistent  with  religion,  but  whether 
it  is  true.  If  it  is  found  to  be  true,  on  the  principle  of 
the  induction  of  Bacon,  it  will  be  found  that  it  is  con- 
sistent with  religion,  on  the  principle  of  the  unity  of 
truth.  We  do  not  reject  a  scientific  truth  because  at 
first  sight  it  seems  opposed  to  revelation.  We  have  seen 


234  JAMES  MCCOSH 

that  geology,  which  an  age  ago  seemed  to  be  contrary  to 
Scripture,  has  furnished  many  new  illustrations  of  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  and  that  the  ages  of  geol- 
ogy have  a  wonderful  general  correspondence  with  the 
six  days  of  the  opening  of  Genesis.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  late  Dr.  Stephen  Alexander  defended  Kant 
and  Laplace's  theory  of  the  formation  of  the  earth  (sub- 
stantially true,  though  it  is  now  shown  that  it  has  over- 
looked some  agencies  at  work),  which  was  supposed  to 
be  inconsistent  with  religion.  I  have  been  defending 
Evolution,  but,  in  doing  so,  have  given  the  proper  account 
of  it  as  the  method  of  God's  procedure,  and  find  that 
when  so  understood  it  is  in  no  way  inconsistent  with 
Scripture.  I  have  been  thanked  by  pupils  who  see  Evo- 
lution everywhere  in  nature  because  I  have  so  explained 
it  that  they  can  believe  both  in  it  and  in  Scripture.1  I 

i  BERKELEY,  CAL.,  March  1,  1888. 
DR.  JAMES  McCosn : 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Many  and  hearty  thanks  for  the  heantiful  little  vol- 
ume of  your  lectures  received  a  few  days  ago.  I  have  delayed  acknowl- 
edgment until  I  had  read  it.  I  have  now  done  so  with  intense  interest.  I 
am  convinced  that  you  are  doing  a  good  and  very  important  work  in  show- 
ing that  evolution  is  not  necessarily  atheistic,  nor  in  any  way  antagonistic 
to  a  true  religious  belief.  The  Church  has  been,  and  still  is,  in  serious 
danger  of  again  placing  itself  in  antagonism  with  scientific  truth.  .  .  . 
With  great  respect, 

Yours  very  truly, 

JOSEPH  LE  CONTE. 

Ex-President  White,  of  Cornell,  considering  the  same  subject  in  a 
series  of  articles  published  in  the  "  Popular  Science  "  Monthly,  wrote  as 
follows : 

"In  one  of  his  personal  confidences  he  has  let  us  into  the  secret  of  this 
matter.  With  that  hard  Scotch  sense  which  had  won  the  applause  of 
Thackeray  in  his  well-known  verses,  he  saw  that  the  most  dangerous  thing 
which  could  be  done  to  Christianity  at  Princeton  was  to  reiterate  in  the 
university  pulpit,  week  after  week,  solemn  declarations  that  if  evolution 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  235 

believe  that  whatever  supposed  discrepancies  may  come 
up  for  a  time  between  science  and  revealed  truth  will 
soon  disappear,  that  each  will  confirm  the  other,  and 
both  will  tend  to  promote  the  glory  of  God. 

During  all  this  time  a  careful  Providence  has  been 
watching  over  us.  We  have  had  no  fire  or  flood  to 
devastate  us.  The  health  of  our  students  has  been 
remarkably  good.  There  have  scarcely  been  any  deaths 
within  our  walls.  In  making  this  statement  I  have  to 
mention  one  sad  exception.  If  I  did  not  restrain  myself 
I  would  weep  as  I  think  of  it.  In  1880,  seven  or  eight 
young  men  were  taken  away  by  typhoid  fever.  I  do 
not  feel  as  if  I  were  specially  to  blame,  as  the  sanitary 
arrangements  were  not  committed  to  me  ;  but  we  college 
authorities  were  so  far  to  blame,  and  I  am  afraid  that 
we  have  scarcely  made  atonement  by  immediately  after, 
at  a  large  expense,  making  the  sanitary  condition  of 
the  college  thoroughly  satisfactory.  For  hours,  day  and 
night,  was  I  employed  in  visiting  the  dying,  and  com- 
forting their  parents.  The  thought  of  these  weeks  is  the 
most  painful  remembrance  of  my  Princeton  life. 

I  am  led,  this  day,  to  look  back  on  my  past  life  in 
Princeton.  I  believe  I  can  say  truly  that  I  have  coveted 
no  man's  silver  or  gold.  The  little  I  have  laid  up  for 
old  age  I  owe  to  a  revered  father  who  cultivated  the 

by  natural  selection,  or,  indeed,  evolution  at  all,  be  true,  the  Scriptures 
are  false.  McCosh  tells  us  that  he  saw  that  this  was  the  certain  way  to 
make  the  students  unbelievers  ;  he  therefore  not  only  gave  a  check  to  this 
dangerous  preaching,  but  preached  an  opposite  doctrine.  With  him  began 
the  inevitable  compromise,  and  in  spite  of  mutterings  against  him  as  a 
Darwinian,  he  carried  the  day.  .  .  .  Other  divines  of  strong  sense  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  began  to  take  similar  ground  —  namely,  that  men 
could  be  Christians  and  at  the  same  time  believe  iu  the  Darwinian 
theory." 


236  JAMES  MCCOSH  % 

land  in  Scotland,  and  to  a  beloved  son,  whose  remains  I 
have  laid  in  your  graveyard,  expecting  at  no  distant  day 
to  have  my  own  laid  beside  them.  I  owe  no  man  any- 
thing, but  love  to  all  men,  gratitude  for  the  favors 
bestowed  on  me,  —  far  greater  than  any  I  have  bestowed 
on  others.  I  trust  I  have  lived  for  a  higher  end  than 
riches,  or  power,  or  fame.  For  sixteen  years  I  was  a 
laborious  minister  of  the  gospel,  having  in  one  of  the 
churches  I  served  upwards  of  one  thousand  four  hundred 
communicants.  For  the  last  thirty-five  years  I  have  been 
instructing  young  men,  and  in  Princeton  have  commonly 
had  each  year  two  hundred  young  men  studying  philos- 
ophy under  me.  For  all  this  I  have  to  give  account 
to  God. 

I  trust  I  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  injunction  to 
be  "  given  to  hospitality.  "  My  income,  happily  we  may 
suppose,  did  not  admit  of  my  giving  extravagant  enter- 
tainments; but  when  college  duties  did  not  prevent,  I 
often  asked  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  students  —  quite 
as  frequently  the  poor  as  the  rich  —  to  come  to  my 
house,  and  in  this  way  I  became  acquainted  with  the 
families  of  many  of  the  young  men.  From  time  to  time 
I  had  class-receptions,  in  which  the  students  were 
brought  into  closer  relationship  with  one  another,  with 
my  family,  and  the  people  of  the  town.  I  sought  to  give 
every  student  an  entertainment  in  my  house  once  a  year. 
By  these  means  I  have  endeavored  in  a  small  way  to 
make  college  life  less  monastic  and  exclusive,  and  to 
cherish  pleasant  social  feelings.  In  this  respect,  and  in 
every  respect,  I  have  been  aided  by  Mrs.  McCosh,  pro- 
vided to  be  my  comfort,  and  who  is  appreciated  by  the 
students  as  being  their  friend  in  health  and  in  sickness. 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  237 

It  would  be  altogether  a  mistake  for  any  one  to  sup- 
pose that  the  life  of  a  college  president  is  a  dull  or 
monotonous  one.  If  he  has  any  life  in  himself,  he  will 
be  interested  in  the  whole  life  of  the  college,  and  no 
institution  has  more  life  than  a  college.  The  students 
feel  this  in  the  recitation-rooms,  in  their  own  rooms,  on 
the  campus,  and  at  their  games ;  and  why  should  not  the 
president's  heart  beat  responsive  to  theirs  ?  There  is 
something  happening  every  day,  almost  every  hour  of 
the  day,  to  call  forth  feeling ;  sometimes,  I  admit,  of 
disappointment  or  sorrow,  more  frequently  of  hope  and 
joy,  as  notice  is  brought  of  the  success  of  this  or  that 
young  man.  There  are  the  father  and  mother  presenting 
their  boy,  their  hearts  trembling  with  anxiety,  while  the 
youth  is  wondering  at  what  is  to  happen.  I  have  been 
liable  every  hour  to  have  calls  made  upon  me.  It  is  a 
mother  asking  how  her  son  is  doing,  and  is  so  pleased 
when  I  can  report  favorably.  It  is  a  student  waiting  on 
me  to  consult  about  his  studies  or  his  financial  diffi- 
culties, to  ask  me  to  help  him  to  get  a  certain  position, 
or  to  teli  me  of  the  death  of  a  father  or  sister.  I  was 
never  disturbed  by  such  calls;  I  often  gathered  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  knowledge  from  them.  The  callers 
never  stayed  too  long,  or  annoyed  me  by  improper 
requests.  I  have  found,  when  I  was  following  some 
deep  philosophic  theme,  and  had  run  aground,  that  I  was 
relieved  by  a  student  coming  in  to  divert  my  thoughts, 
and  I  returned  to  my  studies  to  find  the  difficulties  gone. 
I  have  rejoiced  when  I  found  any  young  man  advancing 
in  his  studies,  particularly  when  he  was  eagerly  pursu- 
ing some  high  branch.  I  confess  that  I  scarcely  know 
what  to  do  with  myself  after  I  am  separated  from  these 


238  JAMES  MOCOSH 

interesting  associations  and  employments  on  which  so 
much  of  my  happiness  has  depended  these  many  years. 

For  the  last  thirty-five  years  my  intercourse  has  been 
chiefly  with  young  men.  My  heart  has  been  in  my 
work,  and  I  have  delighted  to  lecture  to  them,  to  listen 
to  the  questions  they  put  to  me  when  they  were  per- 
plexed about  some  of  the  deeper  problems  of  philosophy 
or  religion.  Two  circumstances  so  far  help  to  reconcile 
me  to  the  position  I  have  now  to  take.  The  first,  that 
I  am  to  be  succeeded  by  one  in  whom  I  have  thorough 
confidence  that  he  will  carry  on  the  work  which  has  been 
begun ;  no,  but  that  he  will  carry  on  a  work  of  his  own. 
Possessed  of  the  highest  intellectual  powers,  he  will 
devote  them  all  to  the  good  of  this  college.  With  un- 
rivalled dialectic  skill  he  will  ever  be  ready  to  defend 
the  truth.  I  am  not  sure  that  we  have  in  this  country 
at  this  moment  a  more  powerful  defender  of  the  faith. 
Carrying  at  his  side  a  sharp  two-edged  sword,  he  uses  it 
only  against  error.  I  can  leave  with  confidence  these 
young  men  to  his  care,  believing  that  he  will  watch 
carefully  over  their  training  in  knowledge,  in  morals, 
and  in  religion.  I  am  particularly  happy  when  I  think 
that  philosophy,  and  this  of  a  high  order,  and  favoring 
religion,  is  safe  in  his  hands,  and  will  be  handed  down 
by  him  to  the  generation  following.  I  feel  that  I  will 
have  to  say,  "  What  have  I  done  now  in  comparison  of 
you  ?  Is  not  the  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim  better 
than  the  vintage  of  Abiezer  ?  * 

Secondly,  I  am  pleased  to  find  that  I  have  still  some 
place  in  this  college.  I  should  like  to  bring  forth  some 
"  fruit  in  old  age. "  My  life  has  had  two  sides,  —  one 
employed  in  thinking,  and  the  other  in  action;  and  I 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PRINCETON  239 

have  not  found  the  two  inconsistent  I  am  sure  that 
the  metaphysics  I  have  taught  have  been  all  the  wiser, 
because  I  have  become  acquainted  with  men  and  man- 
ners. .1  have  been  identified  with  important  public 
events  in  Scotland,  in  Ireland,  and  now  in  the  higher 
education  in  America,  and  I  should  like  to  leave  some 
record  behind  of  what  I  have  done  and  seen,  especially 
in  helping  to  form  in  the  district  in  which  I  lived  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland.  But  if  I  am  spared  to  do  any 
important  work,  it  must  be  in  a  different  field. 

It  is  not  without  feeling  that  I  take  the  step  which  I 
now  take.  It  recalls  that  other  eventful  step  in  my  life, 
when  I  gave  up  my  living,  one  of  the  most  enviable  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  when  the  liberties  of  Christ's 
people  were  interfered  with.  I  am  sorry  to  be  separated 
from  the  employments  in  which  I  have  had  such  enjoy- 
ment. I  regret  that  I  no  longer  stand  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  all  the  students  of  this  college.  I  may  feel  a 
momentary  pang  in  leaving  the  fine  mansion,  which  a 
friend  gave  to  the  college  and  to  me,  —  it  is  as  when 
Adam  was  driven  out  of  Eden.  I  am  reminded  keenly 
that  my  days  of  active  work  are  over.  But  I  take  the 
step  firmly  and  decidedly.  The  shadows  are  lengthen- 
ing, the  day  is  declining.  My  age,  seven  years  above 
the  threescore  and  ten,  compels  it,  Providence  points  to 
it,  conscience  enjoins  it,  the  good  of  the  college  demands 
it  I  take  the  step  as  one  of  duty.  I  feel  relieved  as  I 
take  it 

I  ask  forgiveness  of  God  and  man  for  any  offence  I 
have  given  in  my  haste.  I  leave  with  no  unkind  feeling 
toward  any.  I  should  be  sorry  if  any  one  entertained 
a  malignant  feeling  toward  me.  It  has  been  a  high 


240  JAMES  MCCOSH 

honor  and  an  unspeakable  privilege,  that  I  have  been  at 
the  head  of  this  noble  institution  for  such  a  length  of 
time,  and  that  so  many  spheres  of  usefulness  have  been 
thrown  open  to  me.  I  leave  the  college,  in  a  healthy 
state,  intellectually,  morally,  and  religiously,  thanks  be 
to  God  and  man.  I  leave  it  with  the  prayer,  that  the 
blessing  of  Heaven  and  the  good-will  of  men  may  rest 
upon  it,  and  with  the  prospect  of  its  having  greater  use- 
fulness in  the  future  than  even  that  which  it  has  had  in 
the  past 


11   has  hp*»>  0.SVK-V  »M  v  •;*•  • '..;kg«  pr  .-^ 

jtir  in  the  int  < 

i»;  th«r  «H -•••.     •  44*-  /-.       Two   important   reasons  do  IUK 
if  the  narrative.     It  is  true  as  was 

said  at  the  time,  that  the  president  had  examined  the 
most  famous  institutions  of  learning  in  their  practical 
workings,  that  he  had  studied  the  best  educational 
methods,  that  he  knew  the  human  mind  profoundly,  that 
he  possessed  a  rare  native  sagacity.  How  • 

is  shown  by  the  mi  nut**   >?  t&<.  fffc»ftw* 


ment  >A  tht,'  schools  of  svic-r 

for  the  inaiation  of  a  tyrt 

increase  oi*   y^:<i.»s  and   oti!-;.« 

study  and    «  ;   for  ihf 

library,  muaf 

portant  add: 

qualilied   j>r.  ^turn 

of  suitable  bvu  ar>  ,    and 


From  a  photograph  taken  in  1892 


CHAPTER  XVI 

LIFE   IN   AMERICA 

1868-1888 

T  T  has  been  given  to  few  college  presidents  to  see  the 
work  of  their  hands  prosper  in  the  measure  recorded 
in  the  last  chapters.  Two  important  reasons  do  not 
appear  on  the  surface  of  the  narrative.  It  is  true  as  was 
said  at  the  time,  that  the  president  had  examined  the 
most  famous  institutions  of  learning  in  their  practical 
workings,  that  he  had  studied  the  best  educational 
methods,  that  he  knew  the  human  mind  profoundly,  that 
he  possessed  a  rare  native  sagacity.  How  true  this  was 
is  shown  by  the  minutes  of  the  trustees,  in  which  they 
record  the  fact  that  "  the  period  of  Dr.  McCosh's  presi- 
dency will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
college  for  the  introduction  of  a  wisely-balanced  and 
carefully  guarded  scheme  of  elective  studies  and  of  post- 
graduate and  non-resident  courses,  and  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  schools  of  science,  of  philosophy  and  of  art ; 
for  the  initiation  of  a  system  of  fellowships  and  an 
increase  of  prizes  and  other  methods  for  stimulating 
study  and  research;  for  the  great  enlargement  of  the 
library,  museums  and  scientific  apparatus ;  for  the  im- 
portant additions  to  the  number  of  eminent  and  well- 
qualified  professors  and  instructors;  for  the  erection 

of  suitable  buildings,   whose   architectural   beauty  and 

16 


242  JAMES  MCCOSH 

effective  arrangement  have  revolutionized  the  appearance 
of  the  campus;  for  a  very  considerable  increase  in  the 
number  of  students,  whose  religious  life  and  moral  tone 
and  manly  character  have  been  objects  of  earnest  solici- 
tude, as  well  as  their  intellectual  training. "  But  after 
all  these  results  were  not  due  alone  to  Dr.  McCosh's 
experience  and  technical  training ;  paramount  to  that,  if 
not  superior  to  it,  was  the  hold  he  had  on  the  country  at 
large  by  reason  of  that  remarkable  personality  to  which 
reference  has  been  made,  and  through  this  public  reputa- 
tion upon  the  students  who  came  under  him.  Being  the 
great  virile,  intense  man  he  was,  he  was  also  a  great 
citizen ;  as  such  he  commanded  the  hearty  support  of  his 
nearest  associates,  attracted  the  attention  of  those  further 
away  in  order  to  win  their  confidence,  and  thus  widened 
his  circles  of  influence  until  there  were  few  intelligent 
Americans  who  did  not  know  about  him  and  appreciate 
his  efforts.  No  youth  felt  that  he  was  venturing  on 
unknown  seas  when  he  came  to  Princeton. 

This  eminent  citizenship  was  supplemented  by  a 
family  life  singular  in  its  strength  and  harmony.  No 
public  man  ever  owed  more  to  the  support  of  his  home 
surroundings.  Himself  an  absorbed  thinker  and  a  bold 
polemic,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  be  indifferent  to 
the  little  cares  of  daily  life  and  unconscious  of  the  sore- 
ness felt  by  his  antagonists.  But  throughout  his  career 
he  was  strengthened  and  supplemented  by  a  wife  who 
thoroughly  understood  the  value  of  tact  and  considera- 
tion, who  perfectly  realized  the  proportions  of  income 
and  expenditure  in  the  material  and  social  markets  of 
the  world,  and  who,  animated  by  devotion  and  Christian 
fortitude,  thought  no  pains  too  great  to  be  taken  in  the 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  243 

spheres  of  hospitality,  charity,  and  personal  attention  for 
those  who  touched  the  McCosh  household  either  in  its 
private  or  its  public  relations.  The  president's  house 
was  the  social  centre  of  the  college  and  the  community. 
Its  appointments  avoided  the  extremes  of  parsimony  and 
luxury,  so  that  men,  women,  and  young  people  of  every 
rank  were  receptive  to  the  influences  of  its  geniality  and 
comfortable  simplicity,  without  any  sense  of  either  lack 
or  superfluity.  A  wholesome  prudence  and  economy  kept 
the  head  of  the  household  free  from  any  feeling  of  being 
hampered  and  without  harassing  anxiety  for  the  future. 
There  is  no  human  perfection ;  but  such  matters  were  so 
nicely  adjusted  in  that  home  that  the  freest  play  for 
personal  activity  was  left  to  every  member  of  it,  and 
from  this  Dr.  McCosh  profited  in  his  educational  and 
ecclesiastical  avocations  to  a  degree  which  cannot  be 
overstated.  The  Isabella  McCosh  Infirmary,  a  solid, 
commodious  structure  erected  and  equipped  for  the  most 
part  by  those  who  had  been  the  beneficiaries  in  some 
form  of  Mrs.  McCosh 's  bounty  in  the  way  of  kindness 
received,  testifies  to  the  gratitude  of  the  subscribers  and 
to  the  nature  of  Mrs.  McCosh 's  personal  labors  among  the 
students.  The  eldest  son,  Alexander  Guthrie  McCosh, 
a  successful  merchant  of  great  integrity,  a  man  of  ex- 
cellent parts  and  pleasing  address,  a  tender  son  and  a 
Christian  gentleman,  dying  untimely,  left  his  earnings 
to  his  parents,  and  by  increasing  their  fortune  increased 
their  beneficence.  His  name  will  continue  to  live  in  the 
handsome  prize,  founded  by  his  parents,  of  which  Dr. 
McCosh  has  made  mention.  The  other  son  and  two 
daughters  survive.  They  were  one  and  all  equally  help- 
ful in  their  way,  —  the  eldest  daughter  having  been  for 


244  JAMES  MCCOSH 

years  a  fellow-worker   with  her  father,   acting  as   his 
amanuensis. 

Before  considering  the  activity  of  Dn  McCosh  in  the 
departments  of  good  citizenship  less  directly  connected 
with  Princeton  College,  a  word  should  be  said  in  addition 
to  his  own  statements  for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing 
the  importance  of  his  educational  philosophy.  Con- 
vinced that  a  "  studium  generale  "  embracing  all  the 
liberal  arts  was  the  very  core  of  a  true  university,  he 
began  his  work  by  strengthening  the  old  American  col- 
lege curriculum  as  he  found  it.  Wisely  niggard  of 
every  national  and  local  influence  already  in  store,  he 
promptly  won  the  confidence  of  the  professors  already 
installed,  some  of  them  men  eminent  in  science  and 
philosophy,  and  then  proceeded  to  reorganize  the  higher 
departments  of  each  discipline  under  the  heads  of  science, 
literature,  philosophy  and  the  fine  arts,  in  order  to  make 
the  two  final  years  of  college  introductory  to  the  highest 
specialization  in  such  university  courses  as  he  hoped 
eventually  to  found.  This  device,  at  first  somewhat 
mechanical  in  its  general  arrangement,  soon  fostered  the 
beginnings  of  a  real  organic  life,  and  these  he  proceeded  to 
develop  historically  and  singly,  as  material  in  teachers 
and  students  presented  itself.  In  this  way  the  advance 
of  Princeton  was  not  by  innovation,  but  by  cherishing  the 
things  that  were,  and  by  the  development  of  her  natural 
vigorous  life.  Those  possible  benefactors  who  had  hoped 
they  might  give  wisely  found  that  they  could  do  so  to 
any  extent,  and  the  streams  of  endowment  recapitulated 
by  him  flowed  for  a  time  in  an  unobstructed  channel 
with  a  steady  stream.  The  process  continued  almost  to 
the  last  without  a  break.  To  the  choice  of  teachers 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  245 

equal  care  was  given.  Men  familiar  with  other  institu- 
tions and  with  education  in  both  continents,  specialists 
of  eminence  and  trained  teachers  were  sought  with  as- 
siduity to  fill  vacancies,  but  when  found  they  were  not 
necessarily  chosen;  one  final  test  was  imposed  by  Dr. 
McCosh  in  his  own  mind,  that  they  should  be  likely 
to  acquire  enthusiasm  and  to  develop  loyalty  for  those 
things  for  which  Princeton  stood.  Perfectly  aware  that 
system  was  nothing  without  men  to  work  it,  he  used  the 
faculty  meeting  as  a  forum  for  the  discussion  of  educa- 
tional questions,  reducing  its  judiciary  function  to  a 
minimum.  It  became  therefore  a  means  of  unifying  the 
sentiments  and  methods  of  the  instructors,  of  inspiring 
them  with  a  feeling  of  co-operation,  and  above  all  else 
of  giving  them  an  opening  for  the  enforcement  upon  the 
president  of  the  opinions  they  derived  from  their  own 
experience.  The  procedure  of  the  college  was  thus  the 
expression  of  a  co-operation  between  the  president  and 
professors,  in  which  each  had  a  full  constructive  share. 

Dr.  McCosh  has  clearly  explained  his  attitude  toward 
the  students,  his  theory  and  practice  of  discipline,  his 
method  of  rooting  up  evil  practices  in  the  college  world. 
He  not  only  realized  that  boys  and  young  men  would 
soon  be  men  doing  the  world's  work,  he  appreciated 
that  the  college  was  composed  of  its  units  and  would  be 
the  resultant  of  the  forces  thus  put  into  it.  "  A  college 
depends, "  he  once  said,  "  not  on  its  president  or  trustees 
or  professors,  but  on  the  character  of  the  students  and 
the  homes  they  come  from.  If  these  change,  nothing  can 
stop  the  college  changing. "  Every  student  therefore 
was  to  him  a  personality.  He  might  not  know  the 
name  nor  recall  the  face  of  a  young  man,  but  there  is 


246  JAMES  MCCOSH 

no  instance  of  his  having  mistaken  any  stranger  for  a 
Princetonian,  and  every  member  of  the  college  was  his 
"  boy. "  Walking  and  talking,  he  yet  found  time  for 
greetings  to  right  and  left  of  him  as  he  passed  through 
the  college  field.  He  was  never  too  busy  to  pause  and 
exchange  a  few  friendly  words  with  the  youngest  fresh- 
man, and  as  he  has  told  the  reader  he  was  literally  never 
too  absorbed  to  stop  and  listen  to  any  tale  of  injustice, 
indignation,  repentance,  sorrow,  or  happy  confidence. 
He  was  proud  to  declare  that  no  man  ever  entered  or 
left  the  college  without  a  personal  interview  with  him. 
This  was  bound  in  the  long  run  to  have  its  effect.  There 
was  always  a  nucleus  of  loyal,  ardent  men  among  the 
undergraduates,  but  around  it  there  was  clustered  in  the 
opening  years  of  his  administration  a  mass  of  critical, 
dissatisfied,  lawless  students,  wishing  themselves  else- 
where, ready  for  disorder,  untrue  to  the  best  traditions 
of  the  place  and  to  themselves.  This  spirit  only  passed 
as  the  improvement  in  the  organization  and  work  of  the 
institution  became  evident,  as  the  paternal  character  of 
severe  discipline  was  understood,  and  as  the  fearless 
march  of  president  and  professors  toward  a  lofty,  invigor- 
ating, democratic  university  life  became  impressive. 
Then  at  last  the  Princeton  youth  became  a  pattern  of 
loyalty,  an  enthusiast  for  the  college  which  in  lifting 
itself  was  lifting  him.  Idleness  banished,  work  well 
regulated,  sport  substituted  as  far  as  possible  for  vice, 
the  moral  responsibility  quickened  by  a  strong,  simple 
faith,  — such  was  Dr.  McCosh's  theory  of  the  process  in 
which  college  students  with  all  their  imperfections  were 
to  be  fitted  to  lead  the  life  of  their  respective  communi- 
ties to  higher  things. 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  247 

As  time  went  on  and  the  callow  graduates  became 
experienced  men,  they  developed  an  indescribable  fervor 
of  personal  affection  for  their  former  guide  and  counsel- 
lor. They  recalled  how  he  had  stimulated  their  think- 
ing, checked  their  follies,  built  up  their  habits,  fostered 
their  independence  and  respected  their  personality,  and 
were  both  humbled  and  grateful.  The  scenes  at  com- 
mencement time  when  the  "  old  boys  "  came  back  and, 
announcing  their  names,  grasped  the  "  Doctor's  "  hand 
and  gazed  into  the  "  Doctor's  "  eye,  were  scenes  of  sober 
gladness  which  were  profoundly  significant  of  a  great 
educational  work.  Oftentimes  Dr.  McCosh  was  the  man 
of  granite,  severe  and  commanding  in  his  class-room, 
fearless  to  enter  and  quell  any  riotous  demonstration, 
physically  impressive  and  sometimes  stentorian  in  his 
tones.  But  every  true  heart  recognized  another  in  him, 
and  on  that  point  the  young  are  not  in  the  long  run  to 
be  deceived.  At  times  too  he  discovered  the  strong  vein 
of  sentiment  which  was  in  his  nature.  His  sighs  over  a 
young  man  hardened  in  vice  were  those  of  a  father,  and 
tears  of  joy  sprang  unbidden  to  his  eyes  on  the  return  of 
a  prodigal.  His  emotions  were  easily  reached  by  a  tale 
of  suffering,  and  no  good  student  left  Princeton  for  lack 
of  means,  if  the  president  knew  him  to  be  laborious  and 
self-denying ;  none  but  the  recipients  of  his  bounty  were 
ever  aware  of  his  acts  of  kindness  unless  it  were  those 
generous  friends  to  whom  he  appealed  when  the  demand 
was  beyond  his  own  means,  and  who  desired  him  to  be 
the  almoners  of  their  bounty. 

Dr.  McCosh  has  spoken  of  his  fondness  for  nature. 
It  is  essential  to  the  understanding  of  his  character  and 
work  that  his  creative  imagination  should  be  justly  esti- 


248  JAMES  MCCOSH 

mated.  He  never  was  old,  for  he  lived  in  the  present 
and  future  to  his  last  hour;  the  products  of  experience 
were  for  him  merely  the  elements  of  new  constructions 
which  he  visualized  and  then  critically  examined.  If 
they  bore  his  tests  of  value  he  sought  to  realize  them 
with  all  his  energies ;  if  not  he  smiled  at  his  own  con- 
ceits and  put  them  away  without  a  regret.  In  his  enjoy- 
ment of  natural  scenery  this  came  out  distinctly.  On 
his  first  visit  to  America  he  spent  some  time  among  the 
Berkshire  Hills  of  Massachusetts,  whose  gentle  beauties 
he  fully  appreciated.  President  Hopkins  of  Williams 
College  recalled  a  visit  from  Dr.  McCosh  as  among  his 
most  pleasant  recollections  and  has  thus  described  it: 
"  It  was  during  the  summer  vacation ;  the  weather  was 
fine,  and  we  were  quite  at  leisure  to  stroll  about  the 
grounds  and  ride  over  the  hills.  Eiding  thus  we 
reached,  I  remember,  a  point  which  he  said  reminded 
him  of  Scotland.  There  we  alighted.  At  once  he 
bounded  into  the  field  like  a  young  man,  passed  up  the 
hillside,  and,  casting  himself  at  full  length  under  a 
shade,  gave  himself  up  for  a  time  to  the  associations  and 
inspiration  of  the  scene.  I  seem  to  see  him  now,  a  man 
of  world-wide  reputation,  lying  thus  solitary  among  the 
hills.  They  were  draped  in  a  dreamy  haze  suggestive 
of  poetic  inspiration,  and,  from  his  quiet  but  evidently 
intense  enjoyment,  he  might  well,  if  he  had  not  been 
a  great  metaphysician,  have  been  taken  for  a  great  poet. 
And,  indeed,  though  he  had  revealed  himself  chiefly  on 
the  metaphysical  side,  it  was  evident  that  he  shared 
largely  in  that  happy  temperament  of  which  Shakespeare 
and  Tennyson  are  the  best  examples,  in  which  meta- 
physics and  poetry  seem  to  be  fused  into  one  and  become 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  249 

identical. "  The  explanation  of  Dr.  McCosh's  passion  for 
nature  was  that  out  of  its  elements  he  could  construct  his 
imaginings  without  fear  of  using  deceptive  or  base  mate- 
rial. Eeposing  in  the  world  of  beauty  with  perfect  confi- 
dence, he  gave  free  course  to  that  association  of  ideas  and 
that  kaleidoscopic  rearrangement  of  her  suggestions  which 
is  the  best  repose.  It  was  curious  that  at  the  age  of 
seventy -two  he  should  have  caught  hay  fever,  an  irritat- 
ing annoyance  from  which  he  never  escaped,  and  that 
in  consequence  he  should  have  been  compelled  to  spend 
a  certain  period  every  year  among  the  northern  hills  of 
New  Hampshire.  This  constant  association  with  their 
charms  ended  in  utterly  captivating  him,  and  the  weeks 
he  spent  at  Franconia  or  at  Jefferson  were  among  the 
most  delightful  of  his  life. 

While  Dr.  McCosh  was  primarily  a  thinker  and 
teacher,  and  while  his  force  was  thrown  into  educational 
questions  such  as  the  retention  of  Greek  for  the  bachelor's 
degree,  the  question  of  elective  studies  or  the  system 
of  university  development,  yet  he  never  forgot  that  he 
was  an  ordained  clergyman.  His  plea  for  Greek  was 
partly  based  on  its  necessity  in  preparing  candidates  for 
a  learned  ministry.  Though  in  no  sense  an  ecclesiastic, 
yet  he  was  profoundly  interested  in  his  own  denomina- 
tion and  in  the  question  of  church  unity  among  Protes- 
tants. This  he  felt  could  be  accomplished  only  by 
federation,  never  by  amalgamation.  Presbyterian  union 
in  particular  lay  near  his  heart.  The  idea  of  some  alli- 
ance between  the  various  churches  of  Presbyterian  polity 
throughout  the  world  seems  to  have  occurred  to  many 
persons  simultaneously.  Dr.  McCosh  was  one  of  them, 
and  for  twenty  years  he  labored  earnestly  in  the  cause, 


250  JAMES  MCCOSH 

making  addresses,  writing  articles,  expounding  plans 
and  assisting  in  the  work  of  organization.  He  was  con- 
vinced that  in  the  Federal  and  State  governments  of  the 
United  States  there  was  an  excellent  model  for  a  certain 
degree  of  centralization.  A  few  of  the  great  principles 
as  a  doctrinal  basis  and  a  certain  church-order,  namely, 
the  parity  of  ministers  and  representative  councils  em- 
bracing the  eldership,  being  pre-supposed,  the  central 
council,  he  thought,  should  admit  each  church  on  its 
own  standards  as  long  as  these  embraced  the  cardinal 
truths  of  salvation;  if  at  any  time  any  organization 
departed  from  those  principles  in  act  or  profession  it 
should  be  cut  off  from  the  union.  "  Without  interfering 
at  all  with  the  free  action  of  the  churches, "  the  central 
council,  he  explained,  "  might  distribute  judiciously  the 
evangelistic  work  in  the  great  field,  which  is  the  world, 
allocating  a  sphere  to  each,  discouraging  the  plantation 
of  two  churches  where  one  might  serve,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  two  missions  at  one  place,  while  hundreds  of 
other  places  have  none.  In  this  way  the  resources  of  the 
Church  would  be  kept  from  being  wasted,  while  her 
energies  would  be  concentrated  on  great  enterprises. 
When  circumstances  require  it,  the  whole  strength  of 
the  Church  might  be  directed  to  the  establishment  of 
truth  and  the  suppression  of  error  and  prevalent  forms 
of  vice.  More  important  than  all,  from  the  heart  of  the 
Church  might  proceed  an  impulse  reaching  to  the  utmost 
extremities,  and  carrying  life  to  every  member. "  The 
proposition  was  well  received  and  Dr.  McCosh  lived  to 
see  the  Pan-Presbyterian  alliance  a  fact.  Three  times 
he  crossed  the  ocean  to  promote  its  interests,  and  his  cor- 
respondence in  regard  to  it  was  immense.  He  was  dis- 


LIFE  IN   AMERICA  251 

appointed  that  as  time  went  on  its  work  did  not  arouse 
greater  interest  nor  accomplish  the  ends  for  which  he 
had  hoped,  but  he  died  in  the  conviction  that  its  loose 
federation  would  grow  stronger  and  stronger,  resulting 
eventually  in  the  organic  unity  of  all  Presbyterians. 

One  of  the  burning  questions  in  the  fellowship  of 
the  General  Assembly  during  the  latter  years  of  Dr. 
McCosh's  life  concerned  the  revision  of  the  Westminster 
standards.  In  this  he  had  an  intense  interest  and  he 
carefully  prepared  for  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick, 
to  which  he  belonged,  the  following  statement,  which 
needs  no  comment : 

Ever  since  I  became  a  teacher  of  the  science  of  mind  I 
have  given  more  attention  to  philosophy  than  theology. 
In  doing  this,  I  have  been  able  to  serve  religion  more 
effectively  than  by  any  other  course  which  I  could  take. 
My  philosophy  is  realistic,  being  an  exposition  of  the 
facts  of  our  nature,  and  being  so,  it  must  be  favorable  to 
the  Scriptures,  which  reveal  to  us  what  we  are,  as  no 
other  work  has  done.  But  I  have  been  watching  all 
along  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  feel  it  to  be  honest  to 
make  known  my  views  in  every  crisis  of  opinion  in  the 
Church.  Hitherto  I  have  not  favored  a  revision  of  our 
standards,  but  the  time  has  come  when  we  must  face  the 
question  which  is  now  being  put  in  the  Presbyterian 
churches  all  over  the  world.  I  know  there  is  some  risk 
in  stirring  up  the  inquiry,  but  there  is  more  danger  in 
trying  to  ignore  or  suppress  it,  which,  in  fact,  cannot 
now  be  done.  Our  students,  our  young  men  generally, 
and  our  laity  are  raising  the  question,  and  it  is  the  plain 
duty  of  the  Church  to  face  it  boldly  and  to  guide  the 


252  JAMES  MCCOSH 

movement  in  the  right  direction.  There  are  some  pas- 
sages in  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  in  the  Larger  Cate- 
chism of  which  it  may  be  doubted  whether  they  are 
founded  on  the  Word  of  God,  and  which  are  offensive  in 
their  expression.  Farther,  there  is  a  want  of  clear  and 
prominent  utterance,  such  as  we  have  in  the  Scriptures, 
of  the  love  of  God  as  shown  in  the  redemption  of  Christ, 
which  is  sufficient  for  all  men,  and  in  the  free  and  hon- 
est offer  of  salvation  to  all  men,  non-elect  as  well  as 
elect.  For  the  last  thirty-nine  years  of  my  life  my 
intercourse  has  been  chiefly  with  young  men,  who  are  apt 
to  open  their  hearts  to  me  as  knowing  that  I  sympathize 
with  them.  Most  of  our  young  men  have  not  paid  much 
attention  to  the  Confession,  but  they  will  now  do  so, 
and  as  they  do  so,  they  will  find  certain  passages  knotty, 
crabbed,  and  hard  to  digest.  I  do  fear  that  some  of 
our  best  young  men  who  meant  to  become  ministers, 
may  be  allured  away  to  other  professions,  and  that  those 
who  go  on  to  preach  the  gospel  will  find  themselves 
annoyed  and  hindered  by  unwarranted  expressions  star- 
ing them  in  the  face.  In  these  circumstances,  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  Church  should,  as  speedily  as  possible, 
leave  out  a  few  obnoxious  passages  not  at  all  needful  to 
the  completeness  of  the  expression  of  the  system  of 
doctrine,  and  put  in  the  very  front  a  full  declaration  of 
God's  love  to  men  and  a  free  offer  of  salvation.  This 
being  done  for  the  present,  the  Church  should  hold  itself 
ready  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  years  and  ages  as  they 
roll  on.  I  am  not  sure  whether  the  present  terms  of 
subscription  to  the  standards  will  be  sufficient  in  the 
distant  or  even  in  the  near  future.  Some  of  our  younger 
men  are  saying,  "  Nobody  believes  all  the  Confession, 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  253 

everybody  rejects  some  parts,  I  may  reject  what  dis- 
pleases me. "  At  this  present  time  we  get  more  than 
half  our  erudition  from  Germany,  but  also  more  than 
one-half  of  our  heresies.  Our  Confession  meets  the 
heresies  of  the  seventeenth,  but  not  the  more  insidious 
ones  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Church  has  now 
to  see  that  it  has  professors  in  our  seminaries  equal  in 
learning  to  those  in  Germany.  Ever  since  the  Eeforma- 
tion,  the  Church  has  been  amending  its  Confession.  I 
confess  that  I  should  like  to  have  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  a  shorter  and  simpler  creed  than  the  Westminster 
Confession.  At  the  same  time  our  creed,  be  it  shorter, 
or  be  it  longer,  must  contain  the  saving  truths  embraced 
in  the  consensus  of  the  churches.  I  believe  that  in  the 
age  on  which  we  have  now  entered,  the  Church  will  have 
to  engage  in  a  fight  for  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints."  I  hold  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  quite 
fit  for  that  work.  I  deny,  as  is  charged,  that  the  great 
body  of  its  ministers  are  Arminian  or  half-Arminian. 
I  deny  that  Charles  Hodge  or  Alexander  Hodge  has 
departed  from  the  Confession  of  Faith.  They  may  differ 
at  times  in  the  aspect  they  present  and  the  phrases  they 
use,  but  the  truths  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  old 
Pauline  theology. 

In  connection  with  his  firm  convictions  as  to  unity 
being  essential  for  successful  effort  in  Christian  work, 
Dr.  McCosh  often  contemplated  the  possibility  of  union 
among  all  the  Protestant  denominations.  In  the  main  he 
was  not  encouraged,  so  immovable  seemed  the  obstacles 
of  doctrine,  practice,  and  feeling  which  separate  them. 
But  there  was  one  tenet  sacred  to  all  which  he  felt  might 


254  JAMES  MCCOSH 

be  used  to  spur  them  to  harmony  of  action,  the  binding 
force  of  the  command  "  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature. "  Since  this  cannot  be  done  without  combined 
action,  and  since  there  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  all 
the  churches  becoming  one  at  present,  it  should  be  done, 
he  reiterated  in  public  and  in  private  to  the  very  close 
of  his  life,  by  a  denominational  federation.  His  plan 
was  as  follows : 

First,  in  following  out  these  views  there  should  be 
such  an  understanding  and  co-operation  among  denomi- 
nations as  to  secure  that  the  gospel  be  preached  in  every 
country  and  all  over  every  country.  The  eyes  of  every 
church  should  be  over  the  whole  world  of  human  beings 
to  see  that  in  every  country  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
be  proclaimed.  The  increase  of  post-office  facilities,  of 
travelling,  of  telegraphs,  should  make  this  easier  than  in 
any  previous  age  in  the  history  of  the  world.  We  have 
no  right  to  keep  to  ourselves  and  to  keep  back  from 
others  the  gracious  announcement  that  the  Son  of  God 
hath  left  the  bosom  of  the  Father  and  come  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners.  If  there  be  any  nation  or  region 
which  has  not  heard  the  joyful  sound,  it  is  the  impera- 
tive duty  of  every  church  to  see  that  the  message  be  pro- 
claimed there,  and  join  with  other  evangelical  churches 
for  that  end. 

Secondly,  every  minister  may  have  a  district  allotted 
to  him.  It  is  on  this  that  I  most  fondly  dwell.  This 
district  should,  if  possible,  be  immediately  round  his 
place  of  worship.  I  have  often  been  extremely  dis- 
gusted at  seeing,  in  the  old  country  and  in  this,  a  con- 
gregation fed  with  the  richest  truth  from  Sabbath  to 


LIFE  IN  AMERICA  255 

Sabbath,  in  the  midst  of  a  district  where  the  people 
were  miserably  degraded,  while  yet  nothing  was  done  for 
them.  Where  a  minister  cannot  have  a  district  close  to 
his  church,  let  him  have  one  in  a  convenient  position. 
The  minister  is  to  feel  that  he  has  an  oversight  of  that 
district,  and  to  make  himself  responsible  that  every  one 
has  a  Saviour  proclaimed  to  him.  The  minister  should 
labor  in  that  district  and  should  make  his  own  people 
interested,  especially  in  its  young  and  in  its  poor;  he 
must  welcome  every  one  who  comes  into  his  district  to 
do  good.  Sometimes  this  mixed  work  may  tend  to  pro- 
duce a  little  confusion  and  altercation,  but  things  will 
soon  settle  themselves  when  there  is  anything  of  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  district  may  need  all  the 
laborers. 

It  is  clear  that  the  parochial  plan  cannot  be  estab- 
lished exclusively  where  the  congregational  plan  has 
preoccupied  the  ground,  but  let  the  congregations  every- 
where combine  so  much  of  the  parochial  system  as  that 
each  have  a  district  allotted  to  it.  In  this  district  the 
minister  should  labor  and  take  with  him  into  it  all  the 
members  of  his  congregation  who  are  willing  to  work  in 
Christ's  cause,  to  visit  the  sick,  to  set  up  Sabbath  schools, 
and  to  assist  all  who  need  spiritual  help.  These  selected 
districts  scattered  all  over  the  land  may  come  to  embrace 
all  the  spiritually  destitute  districts,  and  to  spread 
gospel  agents  over  every  district,  all  over  the  land. 

It  is  by  some  such  method  that  I  expect  the  gospel  to 
be  preached  to  every  creature. 

I  may  be  permitted  to  state  that  as  a  parochial  min- 
ister in  Scotland  I  took  advantage  of  both  methods,  the 
congregational  and  the  parochial.  My  colleague  and  I 


256  JAMES  MCCOSH 

had  upwards  of  fourteen  hundred  members  in  our  church 
to  whom  we  preached  the  gospel,  and  we  were  able  to  look 
after  every  individual,  male  and  female,  old  and  young, 
in  the  district.  The  consequence  was  that  in  a  parish  of 
six  or  eight  thousand  inhabitants  there  were  not  a  dozen 
who  did  not  go  to  the  house  of  God  more  or  less  fre- 
quently. I  confess  I  should  like  to  see  this  system 
spread  over  the  whole  of  this  country.  Working  on  this 
method,  every  degraded  district  would  come  to  have  its 
agents,  male  and  female,  working  in  it  In  this  way  the 
whole  land  might  be  covered  with  agents  working  for 
Christ.  The  wealthier  and  more  moral  and  Christian 
districts  might  be  left  to  provide  ministers  for  them- 
selves, and  the  more  degraded  districts  have  evangelical 
agents  provided  for  them.  It  is  in  this  way  I  confess  I 
expect  to  have  the  whole  land  covered  with  gospel  mes- 
sengers, so  a  degraded  one  may  feel  that  he  has  a  Chris- 
tian friend  to  whom  he  can  apply  in  time  of  need. 

It  is  a  plan  which  can  be  adopted  by  any  church  with- 
out the  breach  of  any  denominational  principle.  Instead 
of  a  grand  church  union  being  adopted  first  and  then 
evangelistic  work  following,  it  will  be  by  the  church 
work  that  church  union  is  produced. 

It  might  easily  be  supposed  that  a  man  between  the 
ages  of  fifty-seven  and  seventy-two  would  have  exhausted 
all  his  energies  in  the  various  activities  of  a  college- 
presidency,  of  authorship,  of  teaching  and  of  leadership 
in  church  discussions.  But  it  would  be  a  serious  omis- 
sion in  the  record  of  Dr.  McCosh's  American  life  to  pass 
by  the  activities  of  his  citizenship.  As  one  of  his  most 
famous  pupils  said  in  a  beautiful  prose  threnody  delivered 


LIFE   IN  AMERICA  257 

after  his  instructor's  death,  the  Doctor  was  born  an 
American  and  a  Princetonian.  When  once  he  had 
decided  to  accept  the  presidency  of  Princeton  he  accepted 
along  with  it  the  position  of  leadership  in  patriotism. 
Always  mindful  of  his  origin  and  passionately  devoted 
to  the  land  of  his  birth,  he  was  nevertheless  naturalized 
at  the  earliest  moment,  and  taking  a  warm,  intelligent 
interest  in  American  politics,  performed  with  scrupulous 
fidelity  the  duties  of  his  citizenship.  In  particular  he 
always  kept  his  hand  on  the  local  interests  of  Princeton, 
exerting  his  influence  for  the  choice  of  good  men  to  office, 
securing  wise  legislation  and  restraining  the  little  tem- 
pests sometimes  awakened  by  the  conflicting  interests  of 
town  and  college.  Temperance  legislation  was  his  special 
care,  as  the  saloon  was  his  horror.  In  the  interest  of 
sobriety  among  his  students  he  used  every  force  to  check 
and  regulate  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drink  among  the 
whole  community,  shunning  no  antagonisms,  sparing  no 
foe,  using  every  weapon  for  the  attainment  of  an  end 
paramount  to  all  others  in  importance.  He.  .was  there- 
fore a  personage  to  be  reckoned  with  in  local  politics, 
and  as  such  took  no  pains  to  withdraw  himself  from  the 
profane  touch. 

As  is  well  known,  the  presidents  of  our  leading  col- 
leges are  summoned  repeatedly  by  the  newspapers  to  help 
in  forming  public  opinion  through  the  expression  of  their 
own  views.  From  this  Dr.  McCosh  never  shrank ;  he 
took  care  to  get  the  best  information,  to  weigh  it  care- 
fully and  to  state  his  conclusions  clearly.  And  in  this 
he  was  able  so  completely  to  assume  the  American  stand- 
point that  he  never  aroused  native  jealousy ;  for  the  most 
part  it  was  entirely  forgotten  that  he  was  not  born  in 

17 


258  JAMES  MCCOSH 

the  land  of  his  adoption.  In  general  he  was  a  stanch 
Republican,  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  thoroughly 
independent;  understanding  that  his  position  required 
broad  views,  he  felt  free  to  criticise  the  party  of  his 
choice  unsparingly  when  occasion  required.  Throughout 
the  contest  for  Civil  Service  Reform  he  gave  substantial 
support  to  every  effort  put  forth  for  its  furtherance,  and 
the  interest  awakened  among  his  students  by  his  efforts 
early  led  to  the  formation  of  a  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso- 
ciation in  Princeton  College.  During  the  years  in  which 
he  was  influential  in  the  management  of  the  two  last 
series  of  the  "  Princeton  Review  "  he  was  constantly  put- 
ting forward  as  themes  for  discussion  in  its  pages  every- 
thing that  made  for  purity  in  politics. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AFTERMATH 
1888-1894 

A  T  the  age  of  seventy-seven  the  President  of  Princeton 
College  found  himself  still  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
all  his  powers,  his  intellectual  force  not  diminished, 
and  his  physical  strength  still  sufficient  to  meet  all  his 
demands  upon  it.  The  institution  to  which  he  had  so 
long  heen  devoted  was  prospering  as  never  before,  the 
numbers  of  its  teachers  and  pupils  were  steadily  in- 
creasing, the  work  done  by  its  scholars  and  writers  was 
improving  and  commanding  attention,  the  loyalty  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  corporation  and  alumni  was  only 
equalled  by  that  of  the  undergraduates.  Dr.  McCosh 
himself  felt  no  need  of  repose;  his  armor  was  neither 
heavy  nor  galling ;  the  stately  home  he  occupied  and  the 
honors  with  which  every  year  met  him  in  his  high  social 
station  were  constant  reminders  of  the  distinction  he 
had  attained,  —  yet  with  iron  will  he  determined  to 
forego  his  hard-earned  rewards,  to  resign  his  place  and 
its  emoluments  completely  and  unreservedly.  He  feared 
lest  the  infirmities  of  old  age  might  gradually  cloud  his 
judgment,  lest  the  advancement  of  Princeton  might  thus 
suffer  a  check,  lest  the  dignity  and  influence  of  a  long 
life  might  be  impaired  by  feebleness  at  its  close.  Look- 


260  JAMES  MCCOSH 

ing  into  the  future,  he  saw  himself  for  some  years  still 
active  in  public  life  as  a  philosopher,  lecturing,  writing, 
and  revising,  but  that  was  all.  The  same  will-power 
which  made  him  resign,  kept  him  from  meddling  with 
affairs  which  were  no  longer  his,  and  relegated  him  to 
the  class  of  those  who,  having  deserved  well  of  their 
country,  are  content  to  see  the  fruit  of  their  labors  pros- 
pering in  the  hands  of  trusted  successors.  A  regular 
attendant  at  the  religious  services  of  the  university,  for 
two  years  a  commanding  lecturer  in  its  halls,  deeply 
interested  in  every  detail  of  its  progress,  he  was  other- 
wise a  private  man ;  "  a  model  ex-president  "  was  the 
high  compliment  paid  to  him  by  his  successor. 

In  1889  Dr.  McCosh  was  invited  to  lecture  on  the 
Merrick  foundation  before  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity. He  chose  for  his  theme,  "  The  Tests  of  the  Various 
Kinds  of  Truth. "  The  lectures,  afterwards  published  in 
a  volume  with  that  title,  were  quite  up  to  the  writer's 
highest  standard,  and  were  received  with  every  mani- 
festation of  respect  and  interest  Dr.  McCosh  himself 
was  kindly  entertained,  but,  unfortunately,  the  weather 
was  very  bad,  even  for  March;  the  lecturer  caught  a 
heavy  cold  which  turned  into  a  severe  attack  of  bron- 
chitis and  confined  him  for  weeks  to  a  sick  bed.  This 
warning  made  it  clear  that  similar  invitations  must  there- 
after be  declined,  as  they  were,  though  most  regretfully. 
In  the  same  year  Dr.  McCosh  delivered  two  courses  of 
college  lectures  in  Princeton,  both  of  which  were  after- 
wards published.  That  on  "  First  and  Fundamental 
Truths  "  is  a  successful  attempt  to  present  his  system  of 
thinking  objectively ;  the  other,  on  "  Various  Kinds  of 
Truth,"  was  a  vigorous  defence  of  reality.  The  central 


AFTERMATH  261 

concept  of  the  latter  he  further  elucidated  in  the  lectures 
delivered  from  time  to  time  during  the  following  year. 
This  course  was  also  printed  in  a  slender  volume  entitled 
"  The  Prevailing  Types  of  Philosophy,  can  they  reach 
reality  logically  ?  "  In  addition  to  these  philosophical 
discussions  he  began  another  which  was  completed  and 
published  two  years  later,  also  in  pamphlet  form.  The 
title  of  this,  which  was  really  the  author's  final  attempt 
at  constructive  work,  is  "  Our  Moral  Nature. "  Its  value 
lies  in  its  promise  rather  than  in  any  fulfilment.  It 
displays  extensive  reading  and  foreshadows  a  method  by 
which  the  writer's  philosophy  could  be  used  in  a  con- 
structive Christian  ethic ;  but  beyond  this,  as  might  be 
expected,  it  does  not  go. 

Dr.  McCosh's  last  public  appearance  of  note  was  at 
the  International  Congress  of  Education  held  in  connec- 
tion with  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago 
in  July,  1893.  One  of  the  members  of  that  body  has 
written  that  in  the  main  he  was  the  most  noted  figure 
of  the  assemblage.  In  spite  of  his  extreme  age  he  ex- 
hibited much  of  his  native  vigor  and  adroitness  when 
called  on  to  preside,  quelling  the  unruly,  checking  the 
eccentric,  and  promoting  wise  discussion.  His  own 
contribution  was  a  paper  on  "Beality:  What  Place  it 
should  hold  in  Philosophy  ?  "  which  is  printed  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  congress.  The  many  famous  men  pres- 
ent delighted  in  showing  deference  to  such  a  brilliant  old 
age,  and  cordially  paid  their  honors  to  the  Christian 
philosopher  who  at  eighty-two  was  not  only  a  Nestor  in 
council  but  also  like  an  Ajax  in  battle.  During  this 
journey  Dr.  McCosh's  health  was  still  vigorous ;  though 
much  feted  by  his  friends  and  pupils  in  the  great  western 


262  JAMES  MCCOSH 

capital,  he  suffered  no  inconvenience  and  in  the  visits 
which  he  was  able  to  make  to  the  great  fair  he  became 
an  interested  student.  His  impressions  of  what  he  saw 
were  clear  and  deep ;  he  apprehended  perfectly  the  signifi- 
cance of  such  an  exhibition  in  its  time  and  place,  and 
returned  with  abundant  matter  for  wise  reflection.  Upon 
his  mind  there  was  made  one  indelible  impression,  a  con- 
viction of  the  splendor  and  strength  in  American  civili- 
zation, a  certainty  as  to  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  its 
superabundant  idealism,  and  an  abiding  sense  that  to  the 
end  he  should  sound  the  trumpet  note  of  his  own  realistic 
message.  Almost  immediately  he  began  the  composition 
of  his  last  published  work,  with  the  significant  title 
"  Philosophy  of  Eeality :  Should  it  be  favored  by  Amer- 
ica ? "  The  interrogative  titles  to  the  pamphlets  which 
mark  the  close  of  Dr.  McCosh's  career  as  a  writer  are 
highly  significant.  He  had  been  a  polemic,  a  born 
controversialist,  a  "  defender  "  throughout  the  years  of 
his  vigor,  and  he  remained  so  to  the  very  end. 

The  celebration  of  Dr.  McCosh's  eightieth  birthday 
was  a  delightful  occasion  and  awakened  wide-spread 
public  interest,  showing  as  it  did  how  strong  was  the 
love  of  his  co-workers  and  pupils.  But  it  was  not  a 
public  affair.  In  the  morning  President  Patton  with  the 
faculty  of  the  College  called  in  a  body  to  offer  their  con- 
gratulations. They  carried  with  them  a  handsome  piece 
of  silver  and  a  beautifully  engrossed  and  illuminated  ad- 
dress on  parchment  emphasizing  their  ties  of  personal 
regard  and  expressing  their  satisfaction  at  having  been  his 
co-laborers  in  a  great  work.  Then  came  a  delegation  repre- 
senting the  one  hundred  and  fifteen  of  his  pupils  who 
were  then  teachers  in  various  American  colleges  and 


AFTERMATH  263 

universities.  They  too  brought  a  similar  tribute,  a  mas- 
sive silver  pitcher,  with  an  inscription  taken  from  Aris- 
tophanes' "  Clouds.  "  1  Such  an  experience  has  been  en- 
joyed by  few  teachers;  among  those  represented  were  men 
of  note  in  many  lines,  and  a  few  who  had  gone  far  from 
some  of  their  teacher's  fundamental  positions.  But  each 
and  all  felt  that  Dr.  McCosh  's  receptivity  for  new  ideas, 
if  only  they  were  good,  was  the  most  remarkable  quality 
of  a  man  whom  they  knew  to  be  busy  at  eighty  incorpor- 
ating some  of  the  latest  results  of  German  research  in  a 
new  edition  of  his  Psychology.  Accordingly  this  charac- 
teristic had  been  selected  by  their  committee  as  the  point 
to  be  emphasized  and  on  that  account  was  chosen  the  Greek 
inscription  engraved  on  their  gift.  The  third  event  of 
the  day  was  the  presentation  of  a  beautiful  silver  cup  by 
representatives  from  the  Princeton  Club  of  New  York, 
the  associated  alumni  living  in  and  near  that  city. 
As  may  be  imagined,  the  recipient  of  all  these  testi- 
monials was  deeply  moved. 

It  was  with  great  satisfaction  that  among  those  who 


ytvoiro  TavBptaTrtf,  Sri  irpojuwv 
rrjt  y  \LK'IO.S 
is  r^fv  rpvcrtv  av  — 
TOU  irpdynaffiv  xput-ri^frai 

Kal  aoQtcu'  iira.ffKt'i.     Arist.  Clouds,  1.  511. 

These  lines  may  be  rendered,  — 

Prosperity  attend  him,  since  while  passing  on 
Into  the  vale  of  man's  decline 
He  yet  with  newer  learning's  tint 
His  mind  imbues 
And  wisdom  cultivates. 

The  context  is  ironical,  but  the  passage  loses  nothing  of  its  force  be- 
cause of  that. 


264  JAMES  MCCOSH 

had  graduated  from  Princeton  during  his  administration 
Dr.  McCosh  could  number  so  large  a  number  of  clergy- 
men. During  1892  he  was  interested  in  establishing  from 
his  own  means  a  foundation  of  .£250  at  Brechin,  the  an- 
nual interest  of  which  was  to  be  used  for  enabling  any 
deserving  young  man  of  good  moral  character  connected 
with  his  old  congregation  to  prosecute  his  studies  with 
the  view  of  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland.  The  following  year  he  instituted  a  bursary 
at  the  same  cost,  which  was  to  be  awarded  annually  to 
the  scholar  attaining  the  highest  eminence  in  the  public 
school  of  Patna,  the  village  nearest  his  birthplace  in 
Ayrshire.  In  these  acts  of  beneficence,  which  gave  sub- 
stantial proof  of  his  devotion  to  Scotland,  and  in  found- 
ing the  prize  at  Princeton  in  memory  of  his  son,  he 
found  the  keenest  enjoyment. 

Yet  it  must  not  be  thought  that  Dr.  McCosh  was 
spared  the  ordinary  sorrows  of  advancing  age.  The 
house  which  he  built  for  his  occupation  is  commodious 
and  exquisitely  located,  with  a  distant  view  across  fertile 
lowlands  toward  the  seashore.  In  his  daily  life  he  was 
cherished  by  all  the  cares  which  affectionate,  thoughtful 
consideration  can  bestow.  The  students  who  throng 
the  neighborhood  greeted  him  with  deep  respect  as  he 
came  and  went  on  his  daily  walks,  and  the  little  chil- 
dren playing  on  the  wayside  hailed  his  appearance  with 
shouts  of  delight,  crowding  to  claim  a  ride  on  his 
"  staff,"  as  he  always  called  it,  or  listening  to  his  quiz- 
zical remarks  with  keen  enjoyment.  Wherever  he 
appeared  in  the  college  field,  or  on  the  village  street, 
or  as  he  drove  through  the  country  by-ways  which  he  so 
loved,  he  was  recognized  by  every  passer,  and  saluted 


AFTERMATH  265 

with  pleasant  smiles.  And  yet  for  all  that,  he  felt  the 
burden  of  the  body.  Explaining  his  point  of  view  he 
reasoned,  like  the  philosopher  he  was,  "  that  the  ordinary 
happiness  and  comfort  of  mankind  proceeds  from  two 
sources :  first  and  largely,  from  healthy  sensations  which 
we  feel ;  secondly,  from  the  gratification  of  the  appetences, 
natural  and  acquired.  But  old  age  is  apt  to  be  deprived 
of  both  of  these.  Health  with  its  springs  of  felicity  is 
giving  way  to  irksomeness  and  pains.  Specially  our 
appetences  cannot  be  gratified.  We  try  to  exert  our- 
selves in  our  pleasures,  we  find  that  we  cannot  do  so. " 
But  from  first  to  last  there  was  no  querulousness ;  even 
toward  the  close  of  life  his  sense  of  humor  came  to  the 
rescue  at  the  most  trying  times.  To  one  who  assisted 
him  in  a  moment  of  physical  exhaustion,  and  who  bore 
only  with  great  exertion  one  share  of  the  weight  of  his 
massive  frame,  he  turned  with  a  deprecating  smile  and 
the  exclamation  in  broad  Scotch,  "  Hech,  mon,  ye  had 
an  awfu'  tussle." 

From  time  to  time  throughout  the  last  three  years  of 
his  life  Dr.  McCosh  jotted  down  the  reminiscences  which 
have  furnished  the  foundation  of  this  volume.  The 
occupation  gave  him  some  pleasure,  but  on  the  whole 
his  feelings  were  those  of  regret,  in  fact  at  the  close  he 
was  sorry  that  he  had  ever  entered  on  the  task,  although 
he  was  unwilling  to  destroy  a  syllable  of  what  he  had 
written.  The  reason  for  this  frame  of  mind  is  one  which 
displays  his  character  in  the  strongest  light  —  he  had 
been  led  to  a  stern  self-examination,  and  the  results  were 
not  to  his  liking.  He  wrote  with  unflinching  severity  a 
condemnation  of  his  own  faults  which  would  have  moved 
the  bitterest  critic,  if  such  there  ever  were,  analyzing 


266  JAMES  MCCOSH 

his  course,  as  he  seemed  to  feel  that  he  should,  for  the 
benefit  of  those  he  had  influenced  through  his  long  life. 
But  this  stern  duty  faithfully  performed,  his  buoyancy 
and  faith  reasserted  themselves,  and  probably  the  last 
words  he  wrote  were  these : 

Farewell,  hill  and  dale,  mountain  and  valley,  river 
and  brook,  lake  and  outflow,  forest  and  shady  dell,  sun 
and  moon,  earth  and  sky.  *  *  *  Welcome  what  im- 
measurably exceeds  all  these  —  Heaven  with  its  glory ! 
Heaven  with  its  angels  that  excel  in  strength !  Heaven 
with  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect !  Heaven 
with  Jesus  himself,  so  full  of  tenderness !  Heaven  with 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  asterisks  stand  for  a  tribute  to  his  wife  and  family 
such  as  only  a  modest  true-hearted,  humble  man  could 
write  to  those  who  had  supported  and  cherished  him. 

Dr.  McCosh's  last  illness  was  short  and  painless.  As 
is  well  known  to  all  who  were  near  him  in  his  advanced 
age,  he  grew  more  thoughtful  in  his  expression,  more 
gentle  in  his  looks  and  gestures,  more  considerate  and 
more  spiritual  in  his  conversation  down  to  the  very  close 
of  his  life.  He  died  on  November  16,  1894.  As  at  the 
end  he  lay  in  his  chamber  surrounded  by  all  who  loved 
him,  speaking  in  tender  accents  from  time  to  time,  and 
then  relapsing  into  gentle  slumbers,  the  scene  was  not 
calculated  to  overpower  the  emotions,  it  seemed  rather 
as  if  the  natural  was  making  its  easy  transit  to  the  super- 
natural. And  in  the  serenity  of  passing  existence  the 
onlooker  seemed  to  see  the  strong  man  who  had  run  his 
course,  the  warrior  who  had  fought  his  fight,  the  captain 


AFTERMATH  267 

who  had  weathered  the  storms  of  doubt.  But  whatever 
thoughts  arose,  one  was  central,  here  was  a  great  man 
who,  having  weighed  the  inexorable  queries  of  whence, 
and  what,  and  whither,  was  leaving  the  shores  of  life 
and  passing  confidently  beyond  the  gateway  into  eternity, 
calling  with  undying  conviction  even  as  his  tones  grew 
fainter :  God  is  real,  His  universe  is  real,  man  is  not  left 
without  a  guide  in  the  world. 

He  was  fitly  buried  with  stately  academic  ceremonial ; 
throngs  of  men,  high  and  lowly,  listened  to  the  eulogiums 
pronounced  over  him ;  the  press  of  this  and  other  coun- 
tries paid  becoming  tributes  to  his  memory.  In  his  death 
as  in  his  life  there  was  a  note  of  triumph.  Whatever  esti- 
mate the  future  may  put  upon  his  contributions  to  the 
history  of  thought,  he  will  have  an  imperishable  monu- 
ment of  substantial  dimensions  in  what  he  accomplished 
as  philosopher,  teacher,  and  man  for  the  age  in  which 
he  lived. 

One  of  his  eminent  pupils  has  paid  him  this  just  and 
loving  tribute :  — 

u  Young  to  the  end,  through  sympathy  with  youth, 
Gray  man  of  learning  !  champion  of  truth  I 
Direct  in  rugged  speech,  alert  in  mind, 
He  felt  his  kinship  with  all  human  kind, 
And  never  feared  to  trace  development 
Of  high  from  low  —  assured  and  full  content 
That  man  paid  homage  to  the  Mind  above, 
Uplifted  by  the  "  Royal  Law  of  Love." 

The  laws  of  nature  that  he  loved  to  trace 
Have  worked,  at  last,  to  veil  from  us  his  face; 
The  dear  old  elms  and  ivy-covered  walls 
Will  miss  his  presence,  and  the  stately  halls 
His  trumpet-voice ;  while  in  their  joys 
Sorrow  will  shadow  those  he  called  "  my  boys." 

Robert  Bridges. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY 

BY  JOSEPH  H.  DULLES 

following  list  covers  a  period  of  sixty-one  years, 
from  the  time  that  Dr.  McCosh  was  twenty-two 
years  old  until  the  year  of  his  death.  It  is  arranged 
chronologically  and  thus  constitutes  an  expose*  of  his 
literary  life.  The  absolute  chronological  sequence  is 
broken  in  the  cases  of  the  Baccalaureate  Sermons  and  the 
Philosophical  Series,  which  are  kept  together.  The  list 
does  not  include  all  of  Dr.  McCosh 's  contributions  to 
the  religious  press,  but  does  contain  the  more  important 
of  these.  It  embraces  three  classes :  books,  papers  read 
before  learned  societies  and  articles  contributed  to  vari- 
ous periodicals,  and  distinct  pamphlets.  The  books  may 
be  distinguished  by  small  capitals.  The  pamphlets  are 
given  as  bound  in  paper,  although  in  one  or  two  cases 
there  is  no  separate  cover.  Italics  have  been  used  to 
indicate  the  periodicals  or  published  proceedings  in 
which  his  various  articles  have  appeared. 

On  the  Use  and  Functions  of  Preaching  and  the  Advantages  of 
Systematic  Theology  to  a  Preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Being  a 
sermon  delivered  as  a  valedictory  address  to  the  Adelphi 
Theological  Society,  March  16,  1833.  Edinburgh,  1833, 
31  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Review  of  J.  H.  Hilton's  "  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  Con- 
version." [Unsigned.]  The  Edinburgh  Christian  Instructor, 
vol.  TI,  Dec.,  1833,  pp.  831-841;  continued  in  vol.  HI,  Jan., 
1834,  pp.  34-44. 


270  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Report  and  address  by  the  Kirk  Session  of  the  Old  Church,  Brechin, 
on  the  subject  of  Intemperance.  Brechin,  1841, 10pp.,  12mo., 
paper.  [Unsigned.] 

Recollections  of  the  Disruption  in  Brechin.  Intimation  from  the 
Old  Church  Pulpit,  Brechin,  Nov.  13,  1842.  (Printed  for 
private  circulation.)  Brechin,  1842,  12  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Does  the  Established  Church  acknowledge  Christ  as  its  Head? 
The  Question  answered  by  the  official  statements  of  the  Judges 
and  Statesmen  of  the  Land  and  the  Acts  of  the  Established 
Church.  2nd  edition,  revised.  Edinburgh,  1846,  16  pp.  8vo., 
paper. 

A  Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  Dr.  Chalmers.  By  a  former  pupil. 
Brechin,  1847,  paper. 

Aids  in  Prayer.  For  the  use  of  the  young.  3rd  edition,  with  selec- 
tion of  hymns.  Brechin,  1848,  18  pp.,  16mo.,  paper. 

THE  METHOD  OF  THE  DIVINE  GOVERNMENT,  PHYSICAL  AND 
MORAL.  Edinburgh,  1850,  viii  -f-  540  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1851,  515  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1852. 

The  same.     5th  edition,  revised,  London,  1856,  8vo. 

The  same.    7th  edition.     London,  1860,  8vo. 

The  same.     9th  edition.     London,  1867,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1869,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1874,  xiv  -}-  549  pp.,  8vo. 

On  the  Method  in  which  Metaphysics  should  be  prosecuted :  being 
the  introductory  lecture  of  Dr.  McCosh  in  Queen's  College, 
Belfast,  12th  January,  1852.  Reprinted  from  the  Belfast 
Mercury  of  Tuesday,  Jan.  13th,  1852.  Belfast,  1852,  16  pp., 
16  mo.,  paper. 

For  Love's  Sake.  A  Farewell  Sermon,  preached  in  the  "West  Free 
Church,  Brechin,  Aug.  24, 1854.  Brechin,  1854,  25  pp.,  16mo., 
paper. 

The  Necessity  for  an  Intermediate  System  of  Education  between 
the  National  Schools  and  Colleges  of  Ireland,  in  letters 
addressed  to  his  Excellency  the  Earl  of  St.  Germains,  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  Belfast,  1854,  22  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 

TYPICAL  FORMS  AND  SPECIAL  EXDS  IN  CREATION.  By  James 
McCosh  and  George  Dickie.  Edinburgh,  1855. 

The  same.     New  York  and  London,  1856,  viii  -{-  539  pp.  8vo- 

The  same.  2d  edition.  Edinburgh,  1857,  viii  -f-  556  pp., 

12mo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  271 

The  same.     New  edition.     London,  1862,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1869,  viii  +  539  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1876,  viii  -|-  539  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1880,  viii  -}-  539  pp.,  8vo. 

The  Imagination  ;  Its  Use  and  Abuse.  A  lecture  delivered  before 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  in  Exeter  Hall,  Jan. 
20,  1857.  London,  1857,  35  pp.,  12mo.,  paper.  Reprinted  in 
the  Exeter  Hall  Lecture  Series,  1856-1857,  pp.  377-411. 
London,  1857,  12mo. 

A  Sketch  of  a  Tour  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  with  remarks  on 
the  lower  and  higher  Educational  Institutions  in  Prussia. 
The  substance  of  a  paper  read  before  the  Belfast  Natural  His- 
tory and  Philosophical  Society,  April  13,  1859.  In  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Society,  pp.  1-4.  Belfast,  1859. 

Sir  William  Hamilton's  Metaphysics,  Dublin  University  Magazine, 
vol.  LIV,  August,  1859,  pp.  152-166. 

The  Ulster  Revival  and  its  Physiological  Accidents.  A  paper  read 
before  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  Belfast,  Sept.  22,  1859.  Bel- 
fast, [1859],  15  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  Shifting  Scenes  of  Life  :  An  Address  to  Youth.  Belfast,  [no 
date],  35  pp.,  16mo.,  paper. 

The  Mental  Sciences  and  the  Queen's  University  in  Ireland:  Being 
a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Queen's  University.  Belfast, 
1860,  8  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 

THE  INTUITIONS  OF  THE  MIND,  INDUCTIVELY  INVESTIGATED. 
London  and  New  York,  1860,  viii  +  504  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.  New  and  revised  edition.  London,  1865,  xii  -f- 

448  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.  New  and  improved  edition.  New  York,  1869, 

xvi  -|-  448  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1870. 

The  same.  3rd  revised  edition.  New  York,  1872,  xiv  + 

451  pp.,  8vo. 

The  Association  of  Ideas  and  its  Influence  on  the  Training  of  the 
Mind.  A  lecture  delivered  before  the  Dublin  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  the  3rd  of  April,  1861.  Dublin,  1861, 
36  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

THE  SUPERNATURAL  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  NATURAL.  Cam- 
bridge, [England],  1862,  xii  +  352  pp.,  12mo. 

The  same.    Belfast  and  New  York,  1862,  xii  -f-  370  pp.,  12mo. 


272  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Introduction  to  the  Complete  AVorks  of  Stephen  Charnock,  B.  D. 
Being  pages  vii-xlviii  of  vol.  I  of  The  Works  of  Stephen 
Charnock.  Nichol's  Series  of  Standard  Divines.  Puritan 
Period.  Edinburgh,  1864,  8vo. 

The  Present  Tendency  of  Religious  Thought  throughout  the  Three 
Kingdoms.  A  paper  read  before  the  British  Organization  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance,  Edinburgh,  July  6,  1864.  Edin- 
burgh, 1864,  32  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 

Supplement  and  Questions  to  Dugald  Stewart's  "  Outlines  of  Moral 
Philosophy,"  In  the  "  Outlines  of  Moral  Philosophy,"  pp.  125- 
164.  London,  1865,  12mo. 

The  Religious  and  Social  Condition  of  the  United  States  as  gath- 
ered in  a  summer's  tour  ;  with  the  Formation  of  an  American 
branch  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance.  In  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance,  1866,  pp.  15-24. 

AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  J.  S.  MILL'S  PHILOSOPHY.  Being  a 
Defence  of  Fundamental  Truth.  London  and  New  York, 
1866,  viii  -f-  406  pp.,  12mo.  [The  London  edition  inverts  the 
order  of  the  title,  reading  :  A  Defence,  etc.] 

The  same.  2nd  edition  with  additions.  New  York,  1869, 

x  +  470  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1871,  8vo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1875,  8vo. 

The  same.     London,  1877,  8vo. 

The  same      New  York,  1880,  8vo. 

Waiting  for  God.  A  sermon  preached  in  Great  Queen  Street 
Chapel,  April  26,  1867,  in  behalf  of  the  Wesleyan-Methodist 
Missionary  Society.  London,  1867,  29  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Christ  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life.  A  sermon  preached  in 
Surrey  Chapel,  May  8,  1867,  before  the  Directors  and  Friends 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  London,  1867,  28  pp., 
12mo.,  paper. 

Compulsory  Education.  A  paper  read  before  the  National  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Promotion  of  Social  Science.  Belfast,  1867. 
In  the  Transactions  of  the  Association,  pp.  379-385.  London, 
1868. 

The  Present  State  of  the  Intermediate  Education  Question  in 
Ireland.  Being  the  substance  of  a  paper  read  before  the 
National  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Social  Science,  Bel- 
fast, 1867.  In  the  Transactions  of  the  Association,  pp.  456-458. 
London,  1868. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  273 

Moral  Philosophy  in  Great  Britain  in  Relation  to  Theology.  A 
paper  read  before  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  Amsterdam, 

1867.  The  American  Presbyterian  and  Theological  Review,  New 
Series,  vol.  VI,  Jan.,  1868,  pp.  3-20.     Also  printed  separately 
under  the  title :  Present  State  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  Great 
Britain  in  Relation  to  Theology.    London,  1868, 13  pp.,  8vo., 
paper. 

Recent  Improvements  in  Formal  Logic  in  Great  Britain.  The 
American  Presbyterian  and  Theological  Review,  New  Series, 
vol.  VI,  April,  1868,  pp.  65-85.  [The  original  form  of  the 
treatise  on  Logic.] 

Mill's  Reply  to  His  Critics.  The  British  and  Foreign  Evangelical 
Review,  vol.  XVII,  April,  1868,  pp.  332-362.  Reprinted  in 
The  American  Presbyterian  and  Theological  .Reinew;,  New  Series, 
vol.  VI,  July,  1868,  pp.  350-391. 

The  Duty  of  Irish  Presbyterians  to  their  Church  at  the  present 
Crisis  in  the  Sustentation  of  the  Gospel  Ministry.  Belfast, 

1868,  32  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 

PHILOSOPHICAL  PAPERS.  Containing :  I.  Examination  of  Sir 
William  Hamilton's  Logic.  II.  Reply  to  Mr.  Mill's  Third 
Edition.  III.  Present  State  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  Britain. 
London,  1868,  8vo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1869,  v  +  413-484  pp.,  8vo. 

[Paper  II.  is  also  found  as  Appendix  II  in  An  Examination  of 
Mr.  J.  S.  Mill's  Philosophy.  2nd  edition.  New  York,  1869.] 

Academic  Teaching  in  Europe.  Inaugural  Address ;  in  Inaugura- 
tion of  James  McCosh,  D.D.,LL.D.,  as  President  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  Princeton,  Oct.  27, 1868,  pp.  35-96.  New 
York,  1869,  8vo.,  paper. 

Hopkins'  "  Law  of  Love  and  Love  as  a  Law."  The  New  York 
Observer,  April  15,  1869. 

Address  at  the  Semicentenary  Celebration  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Education,  May  25, 1869.  In  the  Proceedings  of  the 
same;  pp.  19-23.  Philadelphia,  1869. 

Baccalaureate  Sermons: 

Christ  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life.  Being  the  Bacca- 
laureate sermon  preached  before  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
June  27,  1869.  Princeton,  1869,  25  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Lessons   Derived    from  the    Plant.     The  Baccalaureate    sermon 
preached  before  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  June  26,  1870. 
Princeton,  1870,  32  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 
18 


274  JAMES  MCCOSH 

Unity  with  Diversity  in  the  Works  and  Word  of  God.  The  Bac- 
calaureate sermon  preached  before  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
June  25, 1871.  Princeton,  1871,  30  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Faith  in  Christ  and  Faith  in  Doctrine  Compared  and  Contrasted. 
The  Baccalaureate  sermon  preached  before  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  June  23,  1872.  Princeton,  1872,  31  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 
Printed  also  in  The  Mercersburg  Review,  vol.  XIX,  July,  1872, 
pp.  414-438. 

On  Singleness  of  Eye.  The  Baccalaureate  sermon  preached  before 
the  CoUege  of  New  Jersey,  June  22,  1873.  Princeton,  1873, 
24  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

Living  for  a  High  End.  The  Baccalaureate  sermon  preached 
before  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  June  21,  1874.  Princeton. 
1874,  22  pp.,  12ino.,  paper. 

The  Royal  Law  of  Love ;  or  Love  in  Relation  to  Law  and  to  God. 
A  Baccalaureate  sermon  preached  before  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  June  27,  1875.  New  York,  1875,  30  pp.,  16mo.,  paper, 

The  same.    Brechin,  1875,  22  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  World  a  Scene  of  Contest.  The  Baccalaureate  sermon 
preached  before  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  June  25,  1876. 
New  York,  1876,  32  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  Propriety  of  acknowledging  the  Lord  in  all  our  Ways.  The 
Baccalaureate  sermon  preached  before  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  June  16,  1878.  New  York  and  Princeton,  1878,  26  pp., 
12  mo. 

Dr.  McCosh  on  Hazing  —  Old  College  Customs  in  Danger.  The 
New  York  Ledger,  Jan.  6,  1872. 

Address  at  the  opening  of  the  new  Gymnasium  at  Princeton  Col- 
lege, Jan.  13,  1870.  The  Presbyterian,  Jan.  22,  1870. 

The  Evangelical  Alliance.  Postponement  of  the  Conference.  The 
New  York  Observer,  Sept.  1,  1870.  Published  also  in  The 
Evangelist  of  the  same  date. 

Address  at  the  dedication  of  Dickinson  Hall,  Princeton  College. 
The  New  York  Observer,  Nov.  3,  1870. 

THE  LAWS  OF  DISCURSIVE  THOUGHT.  Being  a  text-book  of 
formal  Logic.  London  and  New  York,  1870,  xx  +  212  pp., 
12  mo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1876,  12mo. 

The  same.    Revised  edition.    New  York,  1881,  12mo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1890,  12mo. 

Body  and  Mind.     The  Independent,  April  6,  1871. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  275 

Materialism.     The  Independent,  April  27,  1871. 

Darwin's  Descent  of  Man.     The  Independent,  May  4,  1871. 

The  Support  of  Ministers.     The  New  York  Observer,  May  4,  1871. 

The  Sustentation  of  the  Ministry.     The  Evangelist,  May  4,  1871. 

Competitive  Examinations.  Address  at  the  opening  of  the  new 
academic  year  at  Princeton  College,  Sept.  13,  1871.  The 
Presbyterian,  Sept.  30,  1871. 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  POSITIVISM  :  A  series  of  lectures  to  the  times 
on  Natural  Theology  and  Apologetics.  Delivered  in  New 
York,  January  16  to  March  20,  1871,  on  the  Ely  Foundation 
of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary.  New  York  and  London, 
1871,  viii  +  369  pp.,  12mo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1875,  12mo. 

QUESTIONS  OF  MODERN  THOUGHT.  Lectures  by  Drs.  McCosh, 
Thompson  and  others.  Philadelphia,  1871,  8vo. 

Crisis  of  the  Sustentation  Fund.     The  Evangelist,  March  28,  1872. 

On  Prayer.  The  Contemporary  Review,  vol.  XX,  Oct.,  1872,  pp. 
777-782. 

Prayer  and  Inflexible  Law.     The  Independent,  Dec.  5,  1872. 

Berkeley's  Philosophy.  The  Presbyterian  Quarterly  and  Princeton 
Review,  New  Series,  vol.  II,  Jan.,  1873,  pp.  2-29. 

Sustentation  of  the  Ministry.     The  Independent,  Feb.  13,  1873. 

Notice  of  Dr.  Burns.  The  Presbyterian  Quarterly  and  Princeton 
Review,  New  Series,  voL  n,  April,  1873,  pp.  337-341. 

Sustentation  of  the  Ministry.     The  Presbyterian,  May  10,  1873. 

Upper  Schools.  An  address  delivered  before  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association  at  Elrnira,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  5,  1873.  In  The 
Addresses  and  Journal  of  Proceedings  of  the  National  Edu- 
cational Association,  pp.  18-23.  Peoria,  111.,  1873. 

Dr.  Guthrie's  Early  Ministry.  The  New  York  Observer,  Aug.  7, 
1873  ;  concluded  Aug.  14,  1873. 

A  Marked  Defect  in  our  Educational  System.  The  Evangelist, 
Sept.  4,  1873. 

College  Regattas  and  Saratoga.  The  New  York  Observer,  Feb.  19, 
1874. 

The  Sustentation  Fund  and  Consolidation.  The  Presbyterian,  May 
2,  1874.  Published  also  in  The  Evangelist,  May  4,  1874. 

Federation  of  Presbyterians.     The  Evangelist,  Sept.  24,  1874. 

THE  SCOTTISH  PHILOSOPHY,  BIOGRAPHICAL,  EXPOSITORY,  CRITI- 
CAL, FROM  HUTCHESON  TO  HAMILTON.  London,  1874,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1875,  viii  -}-  481  pp.,  8vo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1880,  8vo. 


276  JAMES  MCCOSH 

IDEAS  IN  NATURE  OVERLOOKED  BY  DR.  TYNDALL.    Being  an 
examination  of  Dr.  Tyndall's  Belfast  address.    New  York, 

1875,  v  +  50  pp.,  12mo. 

What  is  to  become  of  the  Sustentation  Fund?     The  Evangelist, 

Feb.  25,  1875. 

Does  the  Church  wish  to  Extinguish  Sustentation  ?     The  Evangel- 
ist, April  1, 1875. 
Does  the  Church  wish  Sustentation  to  go  down  ?     The  Presbyterian, 

April  3,  1875. 
The  Church   must  now  settle  the  Sustentation  Question.     The 

Presbyterian,  April  17,  1875. 
What  should  now  be  done  with  Sustentation?     The  Evangelist, 

May  13,  1875.     Published  also  in  The  Presbyterian,  May  22, 

1875. 
On   Prayer.     In  The  Prayer-Gauge  Debate.     By  Prof.  Tyndall, 

Francis   Galton,   and  others,     pp.  135-144.     Boston,   1876, 

12mo. 
Prepossessions  for  and  against  the  Supernatural.     A  Criticism  of 

Dr.  Carpenter.     The  Popular  Science  Monthly,  vol.  IX,  May, 

1876,  pp.  21-29. 

The  Princeton  College  Communion.     The  Evangelist,  July  27, 1876. 
Is  the  Development  Hypothesis  Sufficient?     The  Popular  Science 

Monthly,  vol.  X,  Nov.,  1876,  pp.  86-100. 
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1876,  104  pp.,  12mo. 
Discoveries  in  Science  and  Speculations  in  Philosophy.     In  the 

Report  of   Proceedings    of   the   First  General  Presbyterian 

Council,  Edinburgh,  1877,  pp.  187-194.    Edinburgh,  1877. 
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Broad  Churchism  in  Scotland.     Edinburgh,  1877,  15  pp.,  12mo., 

paper. 

On  American  Preaching.     The  Evangelist,  Sept.  27,  1877. 
On  the  Intercollegiate  Association.     The  Evangelist,  Oct.  25,  1877. 
Contemporary  Philosophy :    Historical.      The  Princeton  Review, 

vol.  I,  Jan.,  1878,  pp.  192-206. 

Contemporary  Philosophy :  Mind  and  Brain.     The  Princeton  Re- 
view, vol.  I,  March,  1878,  pp.  606-632. 
Discipline  in   American  Colleges.     The  North  American  Review, 

vol.  CXXVI,  May-June,  1878,  pp.  428-441. 
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A  Presbyterian  College  in  America.  The  Catholic  Presbyterian, 
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278  JAMES  MCCOSH 

The  Christian  knows  no  man  after  the  flesh.  A  sermon  preached 
at  the  installation  of  the  Rev.  John  S.  Mclntosh,  in  Phila- 
delphia, March  17,  1881.  The  Preacher  and  Homiletic  Monthly, 
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What  Morality  have  we  left?  By  a  New  Light  Moralist.  The 
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THE  CONFLICTS  OF  THE  AGE.  [Anonymous.  Four  papers  orig- 
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Advertisement  for  a  New  Religion,  by  an  Evolutionist.  2. 
The  Confession  of  an  Agnostic,  by  an  Agnostic.  3.  What 
Morality  have  we  left  ?  By  a  New  Light  Moralist.  4.  Review 
of  the  Fight,  by  a  Yankee  Farmer.  New  York,  1881,  90  pp.,  8vo. 

The  Senses.  External  and  Internal,  being  Psychology  Part  I. 
Cambridge,  [England],  1882,  86  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 

The  Concord  School  of  Philosophy.  The  Princeton  Review,  vol.  IX, 
Jan.,  1882,  pp.  49-71. 

The  Scottish  Philosophy  as  contrasted  with  the  German.  The 
Princeton  Review,  vol.  X,  1882,  pp.  326-344.  Reprinted  in 
The  British  and  Foreign  Evangelical  Review,  vol.  XXXII,  Jan., 
1883,  pp.  96-114. 

Philosophical  Series :  — 

1.  Criteria  of  Diverse  Kinds  of  Truth  as  opposed  to  Agnos- 
ticism.    Being  a  Treatise  on  Applied  Logic.     New  York, 
1882,  viii  -j-  50  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  same.     London,  1884,  8vo. 

2.  Energy,   Efficient  and   Final  Cause.     New   York,   1883, 
55  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  same.     London,  1884,  8vo. 

3.  Development:    What  it  can  do  and  what  it  cannot  do. 
New  York,  1883,  50  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  same.     London,  1885,  8vo. 

4.  Certitude,  Providence  and  Prayer.    New  York,  1883,  46  pp., 
12mo.,  paper. 

— —  The  same.     London,  1885,  8vo. 

5.  Locke's  Theory  of  Knowledge,  with  a  notice  of  Berkeley. 
New  York,  1884,  77  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  same.    London,  1885,  8vo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  279 

6.  Agnosticism  of  Hume  and  Huxley,  with  a  notice  of  the 
Scottish  School.    New  York,  1884,  70  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

.         The  same.     London,  1885,  8vo. 

7.  A  Criticism  of  the  Critical  Philosophy.    New  York,  1884, 
60  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  same.     London,  1885,  8vo. 

8.  Herbert  Spencer's  Philosophy  as  culminated  in  his  Ethics. 
New  York,  1885,  71  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

On  Manly  Sports.     The  New  York  Ledger,  April  7,  1883. 

A  Study  of  the  Mind's  Imagery.  [In  conjunction  with  Professor 
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Oversight  of  Students  in  Princeton  College.  The  Evangelist,  April 
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Learning  Worshiping  its  King.  The  Pulpit  Treasury,  vol.  IJ, 
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Evolution  and  Development.  Article  in  the  Schaff-Herzog  En- 
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David  Hume.  Article  in  the  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopaedia  of 
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John  Locke.  Article  in  the  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopaedia  of  Re- 
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Scottish  Philosophy.  Article  in  the  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopaedia 
of  Religious  Knowledge.  New  York,  1884  and  1891. 

The  New  Departure  in  College  Education,  being  a  reply  to  Presi- 
dent Eliot's  defence  of  it  in  New  York,  Feb.  24,  1885.  New 
York,  1885,  23  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

The  Course  of  Study  in  Princeton  College.  Education,  vol.  V, 
March-April,  1885,  pp.  353-359. 

What  an  American  University  should  be.     The  Independent,  July 

9.  1885.     Reprinted  ;  New  York,  1885, 16  pp.,  8vo.,  paper. 
Habit  and  its  Influence  in  the  Training  at  School.     A  lecture 

delivered  before  the  students  of  the  Phillips  Exeter  Academy, 
Nov.  19,  1885.  In  The  Phillips  Exeter  Lectures,  pp.  25-4G. 
Boston  and  New  York,  1887,  12mo. 


280  JAMES  MCCOSH 

What  an  American  Philosophy  should  be.  The  New  Princeton 
Review,  vol.  I,  Jan.,  1886,  pp.  15-32. 

Religion  in  College  :  What  Place  it  should  have.  Being  an  exam- 
ination of  President  Eliot's  paper  read  before  the  Nineteenth 
Century  Club,  in  New  York,  Feb.  3,  1886.  New  York,  1886, 
22  pp.,  12mo.,  paper. 

On  Home  Rule.     The  Evangelist,  April  22,  1886. 

The  Providence  of  God.  The  Pulpit  Treasury,  vol.  IV,  Aug.,  1886, 
pp.  238-239. 

Realism :  Its  Place  in  the  various  Philosophies.  The  New  Prince- 
ton Review,  vol.  II,  Nov.,  1886,  pp.  315-338. 

PSYCHOLOGY  :  THE  COGNITIVE  POWERS.    New  York  and  London, 

1886,  12mo. 

The  same.     New  York,  1891,  viii  -j-  245  pp.,  12mo. 

PSYCHOLOGY:    THE  MOTIVE  POWERS,  EMOTIONS,  CONSCIENCE, 

WILL.     New  York  and  London,  1887,  vi  +  267  pp.,  12mo. 
REALISTIC  PHILOSOPHY  DEFENDED  IN  A  PHILOSOPHIC  SERIES. 
2  vols.  Vol.  I.     Expository,  v  -f-  252  pp.     Vol.  II.     Historical 
and  Critical,  v  -f-  325  pp.    New  York  and  London,  1887, 12mo. 
[This  work  consists  of  eight  philosophical  treatises  originally 
published  separately.     New  York,  1882-1885.     See  above,  Phil- 
osophical Series.] 
College   Fraternities.     The  Academy  [Syracuse,  N.  Y.],  vol.  H, 

1887,  pp.  372. 

Christian  Philosophy.  The  Pulpit  Treasury,  vol.  V,  Aug.,  1887, 
pp.  238-239. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  ASPECT  OF  EVOLUTION.  The  Bedell  Lectures 
for  1887.  New  York,  1888,  xii  +  109  pp.,  12mo. 

The  same.  Enlarged  and  improved  edition.  New  York, 

1890,  xii  -f  119  pp.,  12mo. 

GOSPEL  SERMONS.    New  York  and  London,  1888,  336  pp.,  12mo. 

Twenty  Years  of  Princeton  College.  Being  Dr.  McCosh's  Farewell 
Address,  delivered  June  20,  1888,  New  York,  1888,  68  pp., 
8vo.,  paper. 

Dabney's  Refutation  of  the  Sensualistic  Philosophy.  But  What 
Next?  The  Presbyterian  Quarterly,  vol.  II,  July,  1888,  pp.  274- 
282. 

Robert  Elsmere  and  his  new  Christianity.  The  New  York  Ledger, 
Dec.  29,  1888.  Reprinted  as  False  Philosophy  in  Robert  Els- 
mere  in  Our  Day,  vol.  Ill,  Jan.,  1889,  pp.  13-16. 

Robert  Elsmere's  new  Christianity  Examined.     The  New  York 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  281 

Ledger,  Jan.  5,  1889.    Reprinted  as  False  History  in  Robert 

Elsmere  in  Our  Day,  vol.  Ill,  Feb.,  1889,  pp.  146-151. 
Examination  and  Education.     In  The  American  Supplement  to  the 

Nineteenth  Century  for  March,  1889,  pp.  18-22. 
The  Present  State  of  the  Evolution  Question.     The  Independent, 

Oct.  3,  1889. 

Is  there  Final  Cause  in  Evolution  ?    The  Independent,  Oct.  10, 1889. 
The  Teacher,  his  Trials  and   Triumphs.     The  Independent,  Nov. 

14,  1889. 

FIRST  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  TRUTHS  :  Being  a  Treatise  on  Meta- 
physics. New  York  and  London,  1889,  x  +  360  pp.,-  12mo. 

Whither?  O  Whither?  Tell  Me  Where.  New  York,  1889,  47  pp., 
12mo.,  paper. 

THE  TESTS  OF  VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  TRUTHS.  Being  a  Treatise  of 
Applied  Logic.  Lectures  delivered  before  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University  on  the  Merrick  Foundation.  New  York  and  Cin- 
cinnati, 1889,  132  pp.,  12mo. 

The  same.    New  York,  1891,  12mo. 

[This  work  is  a  slight  enlargement  of  Criteria  of  Diverse  Kinds  of 
Truth,  Philosophical  Series,  No.  1.  See  above.] 

Federation  of  Churches  to  secure  that  the  Gospel  be  preached  to 
every  creat^^re.  The  Christian  Union,  Feb.  6, 1890.  Reprinted, 
with  slight  omissions,  in  Our  Day,  vol.  V,  April,  1890,  pp. 
359-363 ;  also  in  The  Church  Revieio,  vol.  XVII,  April,  1890, 
pp.  132-134. 

The  Good  that  may  arise  from  Revision.     The  Independent,  March 

15,  1890. 

The  Religious  Aspect  of  Evolution.  Article  First.  The  New  York 
Ledger,  May  3,  1890.  Article  Second,  May  10,  1890. 

Evils  arising  from  the  Church  being  controlled  by  the  State.  A 
paper  read  before  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Phi- 
losophy, June  3,  1890.  In  Christian  Thought,  8th  series,  1890, 
pp.  1-6. 

Recent  Works  on  Kant.  The  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review, 
vol.  I,  July,  1890,  pp.  425-440. 

The  Moral  and  Religious  Oversight  of  Students.  In  Proceedings 
of  the  Second  Annual  Convention  of  the  College  Association 
of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  held  at  Princeton  College, 
New  Jersey,  Nov.  28th  and  29th,  1890,  pp.  83-86. 

THE  PREVAILING  TYPES  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  CAN  THEY  REACH 
REALITY  LOGICALLY?  New  York,  1890,  vii  -f  66  pp.,  12mo., 
flexible  cloth. 


282  JAMES  MCCOSH 

John  Witherspoon  and  his  Times.    Philadelphia,  1890,  30  pp., 

24mo.,  paper. 
Federation  of  the  Churches.     The  Homiletic  Review,  vol.  XXI, 

May,  1891,  pp.  396-401. 
OUR  MOBAL  NATURE.    Being  a  brief  system  of  Ethics.    New 

York,  1892,  vi  -j-  53  pp.,  12mo. 
Keality :  What  Place  it  should  hold  in  Philosophy.    A  paper  read 

before  the  International  Congress  of  Education  of  the  World's 

Columbian  Exposition,  at  Chicago,  July  28,  1893.    In  the 

Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  the  same,  pp.  682-686.    New 

York,  1894. 
PHILOSOPHY  OF  REALITY  :  SHOULD  IT  BE  FAVORED  BY  AMERICA  ? 

New  York,  1894,  x  +  78  pp.,  12mo.,  flexible  cloth. 


INDEX 


AGASSIZ,  Lours,  and  Darwinism,  123. 

America,  Dr.  McCosh's  first  trip  to, 
163-165. 

Anderson,  John,  friendship  of,  with 
McCosh,  48,  49. 

Arbroath,  McCosh's  pastorate  at,  55  et 
teg. 

Argyll,  Duke  of,  his  friendship  with  Dr. 
McCosh,  138,  141;  his  letter  to  Dr. 
McCosh,  141-143;  his  note  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Cosh concerning  Bunsen,  155. 

Athletics  and  Gymnastics  in  Princeton 
College,  222-224. 

Ayr,  the  district  of,  character  of,  in  Dr. 
McCosh's  early  youth,  11  et  seq. 

BEOG,  JAMES,  89. 

Blair,  John  I.,  donations  to  Princeton 

College,  212. 
Bonner,  Robert,  donation  to  Princeton 

College,  192. 
Braun,  Professor,   Dr.  McCosh  visits, 

159,  160. 
Brechin,  Dr.  McCosh's  pastorate  at,  67 

et  teq. 
Bridges,  Robert,  his  tribute  in  verse  to 

Dr.  McCosh,  267. 
Buchanan,  Robert,  89. 
Bunsen,  Dr.  McCosh  visits,  149-155. 
Burns,  Robert,  19. 

CANDLISH,  ROBERT  SMITH,  89. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  imitated  by  clergy- 
men, 81. 

Carskeoch,  the  birthplace  of  James 
McCosh,  10, 11. 

Carson,  Jean,  mother  of  James  McCosh, 
8,  9. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  Dr.  McCosh's  trib- 


ute to,  40-42, 89 ;  regarded  as  the  ablest 
defender  of  the  churches  established 
by  law,  47. 

Church  in  Ireland,  the,  agitation  in,  130 
et  seq. 

Church  of  Scotland,  Disruption  in  the, 
74-81,  86-88;  men  and  scenes  of  Dis- 
ruption, 88-101 ;  Erastianism,  86,87; 
The  "Moderates,"  86,  87. 

Church  unity,  Dr.  McCosh's  interest  in 
and  views  on,  249-251,  253-255. 

Clarendon,  Lord,  reads  "Method  of 
Divine  Government,"  108. 

Combe's  "Constitution  of  Man,"  103, 
105. 

Cooke,  Dr.,  and  the  Church  in  Ireland, 
130. 

Cunningham,  William,  89. 

DARWIN,  his  "  Origin  of  Species,"  pub- 
lication and  effect  of,  123. 

Dickie,  Dr.  George,  joint  author  with 
Dr.  McCosh  of  "  Typical  Forms  and 
Special  Ends  of  Creation,"  122,  123. 

Disruption,  the,  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, 74-81,  86-88;  men  and  scenes 
of,  88-101. 

Dufferin,  Marquis,  Dr.  McCosh  visits, 
139-141. 

Dunlop,  Alexander  M.,  64,  90. 

ELIOT,  President  of  Harvard,  Dr.  Mc- 
Cosh's debate  with,  on  the  subject  of 
elective  and  required  studies,  199-202. 

Erastianism,  86,  87. 

Evolution,  Dr.  McCosh's  position  to- 
wards, 122-124,  234. 

"Examination  of  J.  S.  Mill's  Philoso- 
phy," by  McCosh,  170-172. 


284 


INDEX 


FETTERCAIRN,    Dr.   McCosh  preaches 

at,  97,  98,  99. 

Firmerich,  Dr.,  Dr.  McCosh  visits,  159. 
Fordoun,  Dr.  McCosh  preaches  at,  97. 
Free  Church  Movement,   in  Scotland, 

74-81,  86-10L 

GERMANY,  Dr.  McCosh's  travels  in, 
144-163. 

Gibson,  Professor,  of  Belfast,  instrumen- 
tal in  obtaining  chair  of  Mental  Sci- 
ence for  Dr.  McCosh  in  Queen's  Col- 
lege, Belfast,  108,  109. 

Gladstone,  Sir  John,  and  the  Free 
Church,  98-101. 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  100,  101. 

Glasgow  University,  Dr.  McCosh's  life 
and  studies  at,  24-36. 

Goltz,  Graf  von,  Dr.  McCosh  visits, 
158. 

"  Gospel  Sermons,"  bv  Dr.  McCosh, 
52. 

Grampian  Mountains,  the,  91. 

Gray,  Asa,  and  Darwinism,  123. 

Greek,  as  an  obligatory  study,  199- 
203. 

Green,  Chancellor,  Dr.  McCosh's  inter- 
view with,  concerning  hazing,  216- 
218. 

Green,  John  C.,  donations  to  Princeton 
College,  193, 194. 

Guthrie,  Thomas,  his  character,  59.  60; 
as  a  preacher,  60-63,  89:  goes  to 
Edinburgh,  65.  66;  his  letter  to  Dr. 
McCosh  concerning  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  82-84. 

Gymnastics  and  Athletics  in  Princeton 
'College,  222-224. 

HALSTEAD,  GENERAL,  donation  to 
Princeton  College,  195. 

Hamilton,  Sir  William,  39,  40;  his 
words  to  McCosh,  51;  his  opinion  of 
"  Method  of  Divine  Government," 
105;  his  death  and  posthumous  writ- 
ings, 170. 

Hanna,  William,  105. 

Hart,  Robert,  his  description  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Cosh as  a  man  and  a  teacher,  115-117. 

Hengstenberg,  Dr.  McCosh  meets,  146, 
147. 

Hogg  of  Kirkliston,  90. 


Hopkins,  Mark,  recalls  a  visit  of  Dr. 

McCosh,  248. 
Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  Dr.  McCosh 

meets,  147-149. 

INGLIS,  DAVID,  92,  93. 

Inglis,  Robert,  92. 

"  Intuitions  of  the  Mind,"  by  McCosh, 

166-170. 
Ireland,   the  Church  in,   agitation  in, 

130  et  seq. 

JEFFREY,  FRANCIS,  38,  39. 

KENNEDY,  SIR  ARCHIBALD,  his  funeral, 

13. 
Knox,  John,  intelligence  of  the  common 

people  due  to  the  work  of,  14. 

LAIRD,  JOHN,  55,  59. 

Leaves,   Dr.  McCosh's  theory  of,  135, 

136. 
Le  Conte,   Joseph,   his   letter   to   Dr. 

McCosh,  234. 
Lee,  Robert,  59. 
Leslie,  Sir  John,  39. 
Libbey,  William,  donation  to  Princeton 

College,  194. 
Library  Meetings,    introduced  by  Dr. 

McCosh,  180,  209,210. 
Lochlee,  the  parish  of,  91,  92. 
"  Logic,"  by  Dr.  McCosh,  177. 
Lumsden,  James,  59. 

McCosH.  ALEXANDER  GUTHRIE,  eldest 
son  of  Dr.  McCosh,  243. 

McCosh,  Andrew,  father  of  James 
McCosh,  6 ;  eulogium  to,  6,  7;  his 
charity,  7,  8;  his  death,  20;  his 
religious  character,  21. 

McCosh,  James,  ancestry,  3-9 ;  his 
father,  Andrew  McCosh,  6,  7,  8;  his 
mother,  8,  9 ;  his  birth  and  early  life, 
10  et  seq. ;  his  words  on  the  moral  and 
religious  character  of  the  district  in 
which  he  lived,  and  of  Scotland,  11- 
19 ;  his  words  concerning  Robert 
Burns,  19;  destined  for  the  ministry, 
21 ;  first  schooling,  21 ;  early  reading, 
22 ;  sent  to  Glasgow  University,  23 ; 
his  life  and  studies  at  Glasgow  Univer- 
sity, 24-36 ;  his  reading  of  literature 


INDEX 


285 


while  at  Glasgow,  26,  27 ;  hi*  essays, 
28;  his  work  in  Mathematics,  29,  30; 
his  bent  toward  Philosophy,  30,  31; 
his  ideas  concerning  social  relations 
of  professor  and  pupil,  32,  33,  35,  36; 
his  life  and  studies  at  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity, 37-49 ;  his  words  concerning 
Walter  Scott,  38;  concerning  Francis 
Jeffrey,  38.  39;  concerning  John  Les- 
lie, John  Wilson,  and  William  Ham- 
ilton, 39,  40 ;  concerning  Thomas 
Chalmers,  40-42,  89;  concerning  Dr. 
Welsh,  42, 43 ;  forms  resolution  never 
to  call  on  any  one  unless  he  had  busi- 
ness with  him,  42,  43;  his  reading 
while  at  Edinburgh,  44,  45;  his  atten- 
tion to  the  natural  sciences,  45;  the 
beginning  of  his  "  Method  of  Divine 
Government,"  46 ;  preaches  about  the 
country,  53,  54;  his  idea  of  a  sermon, 
52;  tutors  for  a  time,  54;  becomes 
pastor  at  Arbroath,  55;  his  work  and 
life  there,  56  et  seq. ;  his  words  con- 
cerning William  Stevenson,  Robert 
Lee,  John  Laird,  and  James  Lums- 
den,  59;  concerning  Thomas  Guthrie, 
59-63,  89 ;  receives  and  declines  a  call 
to  Edinburgh,  64,  65;  his  words  con- 
cerning Alexander  Dunlop,  64,  90; 
accepts  call  to  Brechin,  67;  his  de- 
scription of  Brechin,  68,  69;  his  life 
and  work  at  Brechin,  69  et  seq. ;  his 
words  concerning  his  wife,  73,  74;  his 
words  concerning  the  Disruption  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  74-81;  accepts 
call  to  professorship  in  Queen's  Col- 
lege, Belfast,  78,  108-111;  one  of  a 
deputation  to  visit  England  to  make 
known  the  claims  of  non-intrusion, 
80,  81 ;  letter  to,  from  Thomas  Guthrie 
concerning  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
82-84  ;  his  earnestness,  85;  his  de- 
scription of  the  men  and  the  scenes  of 
the  Disruption,  88-101;  his  words  con- 
cerning William  Cunningham,  Robert 
Smith  Candlish,  Robert  Buchannn, 
James  Begg,  89,  90:  concerning  Hugh 
Miller,  90;  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the 
Free  Church,  91-101  ;  ambitions  to 
become  an  author,  102 ;  his  philo- 
sophic creed,  103-105;  his  "Method 
of  Divine  Government "  published. 
105 ;  criticisms  of  and  success  of 


"Method  of  Divine  Government," 
105-107 ;  his  opinion  in  later  years  of 
"  Method  of  Divine  Government," 
107;  becomes  professor  at  Queen's 
College,  Belfast,  108-111;  his  method 
and  principles  in  teaching  philosophy, 
111-114;  his  character  and  qualities 
as  a  teacher,  114  et  seq. ;  Robert 
Hart's  description  of,  115-117;  Pro- 
fessor Macloskie's  words  concerning, 
117-124;  his  share  in  authorship  of 
"  Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in 
Creation,"  122;  his  attitude  toward 
Evolution  theory,  122-124,  234;  his 
benevolent  and  religious  work  in  Bel- 
fast, 125-128;  works  for  temperance, 
127,  128 ;  his  scientific  study  of  edu- 
cational systems,  128  ;  his  attitude 
toward  the  American  Rebellion,  128, 
129,  163 ;  his  work  for  the  Church  in 
Ireland,  129  et  seq. ;  favors  a  sustenta- 
tion  fund  and  a  national  educational 
system,  130-133 ;  receives  and  de- 
clines call  to  professorship  in  Glasgow 
University,  133,  134;  his  importance 
as  a  personage  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  134, 135;  his  words  concern- 
ing the  work  "  Typical  Forms  and 
Special  Ends  in  Creation,"  135-138: 
his  friendship  with  the  Duke  of 
Argyll,  138-141  ;  his  acquaintance 
with  and  visit  to  the  Marquis  of 
Dufferin,  139-141  ;  letter  to,  from 
Duke  of  Argyll,  141-143;  his  trav- 
els in  Germany,  143-163;  his  words 
concerning  Professor  Trendelenberg, 

144,  145,  157  ;  concerning  Michelet, 

145,  146  ;  concerning  Hengstenberg, 

146,  147,    156  ;     his    meeting    with 
Humboldt,     147-149,     160-162;     his 
meeting    with    and    impressions    of 
Bunsen,    149-155 ;   his   words  on  the 
state  of   theological    belief    in    Ger- 
many, 153,  154;    his  letter  to  Mrs. 
McCosh  concerning  his  travels  in  Ger- 
many, 156-163;  visits  Graf  von  Goltz, 
158;  visits  Dr.  Firmerich  and  Profes- 
sor Braun,  159,  160;  his  words  con- 
cerning Sydow,  160,  161;  his  record 
of  trips  to  America,  163-165;  his  phi- 
losophy  and   teaching,  166-180;   his 
"Intuitions  of  the  Mind,"    166-170; 
Professor  Orraond's  characterization 


286 


INDEX 


of,  168;  his  "Examination  of  J.  S. 
Mill's  Philosophy,"  170-172;  his 
"  Supernatural  in  relation  to  the  Nat- 
ural," 172;  success  of  his  works,  172; 
his  confession  of  faith,  173-175;  his 
"Logic,"  "Psychology,"  and  other 
important  works,  175-178,  210;  his 
power  as  a  teacher,  179, 180;  his  man- 
nerisms, 179;  introduces  Library 
Meetings,  180,  209,  210;  becomes 
president  of  Princeton  College,  183, 
184;  letter  to,  from  Lord  Shaftesbury, 
185-187;  his  inauguration,  187;  his 
words  on  the  condition  of  Princeton 
College  on  his  coming,  and  donations 
made,  190  et  seq.;  defends  Greek  as 
an  obligatory  study.  199-203 ;  his  de- 
bate with  President  Eliot  on  subject 
of  elective  and  required  courses  of 
study,  199-202 ;  his  comparison  of 
American  colleges  with  those  of  Great 
Britain  and  Europe,  204;  hoped  to 
form  a  stadium  generate,  213,  214, 
244;  his  words  concerning  hazing  and 
other  similar  college  practices,  215  et 
teq.;  his  interview  with  Chancellor 
Green  concerning  hazing,  216,  217; 
his  experience  with  newspaper  re- 
porters, 219,  220 ;  his  words  on  Greek 
letter  societies,  221,  222;  his  words  on 
gymnastics  and  athletics,  222-224; 
his  words  on  morals  and  discipline, 
224-226;  letter  to,  from  Joseph  Le 
Conte,  234;  Andrew  White's  words 
concerning,  234;  his  hospitality,  236; 
his  words  on  the  life  of  a  college 
president,  237,  238 ;  his  tribute  to  Dr. 
Patton,  238;  his  life  and  work  at 
Princeton,  241  et  seq.;  his  character  as 
a  man  and  a  citizen,  and  an  estimate 
of  his  services  as  a  teacher  and  college 
president,  241-249, 256-258;  his  home 
and  his  family,  243;  his  relations  to 
his  students,  247-249;  his  buoyancy 
and  love  of  nature,  247-249;  his  in- 
terest in  and  work  for  Church  unity, 
249-251 ;  his  words  on  the  revision  of 
the  Westminster  Standards,  251-253  ; 
bis  views  on  union  of  Protestant  de- 
nominations, 253-255 ;  his  interest  in 
Civil  Service  Reform,  258;  work  of 
his  last  years,  259-262 ;  lectures  be- 
fore Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  260; 


at  the  International  Congress  of  Edu- 
cation at  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago, 
261 ;  celebration  of  his  eightieth  birth- 
day, 262,  263;  establishes  a  founda- 
tion of  .£'250  at  Brechin,  264 ;  his  last 
days,  death,  and  burial,  264-267; 
tribute  to,  from  Robert  Bridges,  267. 

McCosh,  James,  Mrs.,  Dr.  McCosh's 
words  concerning,  73,  74. 

McCosh,  Jasper,  3. 

McClymont,  Mr.,  pursued  by  the  Eng- 
lish, 9. 

Macloskie,  Prof.  George,  his  description 
of  Dr.  McCosh  as  a  man  and  a 
teacher,  117-124;  his  note  on  Dr. 
McCosh's  theory  about  leaves,  136. 

Makgill-Crichton,*90. 

Mansel,  his  philosophical  works,  170. 

Marquand  Henry  G.,  donations  to 
Princeton  College,  192,  195. 

Maule,  Fox,  90,  93. 

Menmuir,  the  parish  of,  93-95. 

"  Metaphysics,"  by  Dr.  McCosh,  178. 

"  Method  of  Divine  Government,"  by 
Dr.  McCosh,  beginning  of,  46;  pub- 
lication and  success  of,  105-107;  au- 
thor's opinion  of,  in  later  years,  107. 

Michelet,  Dr.  McCosh's  description  of, 
145, 146. 

Mill,  J.  S-,  his  philosophy,  170. 

Miller,  Hugh,  90;  his  opinion  of 
"  Method  of  Divine  Government,"  106. 

"  Moderates,"  the,  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, 86,  87. 

Monboddo,  Lord,  97. 

Moncreiff,  Henry,  an  opponent  of  Mc- 
Cosh in  debate,  46. 

Murray,  Hamilton,  donation  to  Prince- 
ton College,  194. 

Murray,  James  O.,  Dean  of  Princeton 
faculty,  225-228. 

ORANGEMEN,  their  condition,  131. 

"  Origin  of  Species,"  by  Darwin,  pub- 
lication and  effect  of,  123. 

Ormond,  Professor,  his  characterization 
of  Dr.  McCosh  as  a  philosopher,  1G8. 

PANMUKE,  LORD,  92,  93. 

Patton,  Prest.  Francis  L.,  his  words 
concerning  Dr.  McCosh's  "  Examina- 
tion of  J.  S.  Mill's  Philosophy."  171  j 
Dr.  McCosh's  tribute  to,  238. 


INDEX 


287 


Prime,  Dr.  W.  C.,  donation  to  Princeton 
College,  195. 

Princeton  College,  its  character,  182, 
183;  Dr.  McCosh  chosen  president, 
183;  Dr.  McCosh's  coming  begins  a 
new  epoch  in  history  of,  187-190; 
condition  of,  189,  190;  endowments 
and  new  buildings  given  to,  192-195, 
212,  213;  courses  of  study  in,  198  et 
seq. ;  required  and  elective  courses  in, 
203, 204 ;  fellowship  in,  204,  205 ;  prize 
competitions  in,  205 ;  increase  in  pro- 
fessors, 205-207;  scientific  apparatus 
and  collections,  207;  periodicals,  208; 
School  of  Science,  208,  209 ;  Philos- 
ophy courses,  209,  210 ;  post-graduate 
courses,  211;  finances,  212;  number 
of  students,  213;  hazing  and  other 
degrading  college  practices,  215-220; 
Greek  letter  societies  in,  221,  222; 
gymnastics  and  athletics  in,  222-224 ; 
morals  and  discipline,  224-226;  re- 
ligious work  in,  227-233;  typhoid 
fever  epidemic,  235;  Dr.  McCosh's 
labors  in,  as  a  teacher  and  a  president, 
and  the  results,  241-245. 

"Psychology,"  by  Dr.  McCosh,  177, 
178. 


SANDFORD,    DANIEL,    a    professor   at 

Glasgow  University,  29. 
Scotland,    character   of    the   Lowland 


people,  13-19;  the  Church  of,  Dis- 
ruption in,  74-81,  85-101. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  38. 

"  Scottish  Philosophy,"  by  Dr.  McCosh, 
177. 

Smith,  Quintin,  first  teacher  of  Dr. 
McCosh,  21,  24. 

Stevenson,  William,  69. 

"  Supernatural  in  relation  to  the  Na- 
tural," by  Dr.  McCosh,  172. 

Sustentation  Fund,  the,  for  the  Church 
in  Ireland,  130-132. 

Sydow,  Dr.  McCosh's  words  concerning, 
160,  161. 

THACKERAY,  W.  M.,  his  ballad  "The 

Last  Irish  Grievance,"  sung,  109,  111. 
Trendelenberg,  Professor,  Dr.  McCosh's 

description  of,  144, 145. 
"Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in 

Creation,"  by  McCosh  and  Dickie, 

122,  123,  135-138. 

WELSH,  DR.,  42,  43. 

Westminster  Standards,  Dr.  McCosh's 
words  on  revision  of,  251-253. 

White,  Andrew  his  words  concerning 
Dr.  McCosh  in  the  "  Popular  Sci- 
ence "  monthly,  234,  235. 

Wilson,  John,  39,  40. 

Wilson,  William,  49. 

Witherspoon,  John,  his  ancestry  and 
character,  183, 184. 


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